New school year begins with high school teachers' strike as negotiations fail

The start of the educational year has been disrupted for high school students, as negotiations to prevent a teacher’s strike on Saturday night failed.

Teachers in Israel earn salaries below the national average in a country with a high cost of living, leading to frequent strikes in the education sector over the years. The ongoing crisis has further strained Israel's treasury.

In addition, the Ministry of Education has faced significant budget cuts due to the financial pressures from the war. In July, the education budget was reduced by NIS 38,283,000 ($10.3 million), according to a Times of Israel report.

Ran Erez, head of the Secondary School Teachers Association, for those teaching grades 7-12, announced the commitment to strike if a deal was not reached on Thursday. He expressed openness to negotiations and invited the government to “bring us an offer that we can accept.” The talks were held with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, but were described by Education Minister Yoav Kisch as a “battle of egos.”

The primary disputes center on the effective date for a proposed salary increase and the insistence by Efi Malkin, head of public sector salaries at the Finance Ministry, that some teachers should be hired on individual contracts instead of collectively through the union.

The main points of contention are around the effective date for a proposed salary increase and the demand by Efi Malkin, head of public sector salaries at the Finance Ministry, that some teachers be employed with individual contracts rather than collectively through the teacher's union.

Malkin’s proposal would allow for higher salaries but not protect workers from layoffs – a condition the union refuses to accept.

“After the emergency meeting and the nighttime negotiations in which I ordered another compromise outline, I came to the conclusion that both Finance Minister Smotrich and Ran Erez desire the strike,” Kisch stated, insisting that they were “harming students and teachers.”

Kisch slammed Erez and Smotrich for not taking more action to reach an agreement.

“Both have failed to step up in light of the magnitude of the situation, and all of us are paying the price,” he said. “I fully hope they will put their ego aside and we will reach agreements as soon as possible.” He called the decision to strike during the war and so soon after all the disruption of the pandemic, “a mistake, and irresponsible.” 

Similar strikes were nearly averted at the same time last year when an agreement to raise salaries was reached just hours before the 2023 school year began. However, the government later reneged on the deal, citing financial strains from the war.

Smotrich urged Erez to abandon the industrial action, saying, “I implore you to start the year,” adding, “The people of Israel need it, your students need it. Certainly now in wartime, they need a strong, supportive education system that will help them and all of us deal with the difficult period of war.”

However, Erez refused to buckle and announced, “On Sunday, September 1, we will not begin the school year. No matter what they write to you, what they tell you, what they promise you, on Sunday there will be a strike. Nothing can stop this strike.”

Glassdoor’s assessment gives the average teacher’s monthly salary in Israel as NIS 7,583 ($2081), falling below the NIS 11,000 ($3,300) national average in 2023. According to WRAI, teachers in Israel on average earn significantly less than firefighters and police officers, and only a little more than drivers. 

The Jerusalem Post reported that some 2.4 million children would be affected by the strike.

On Friday, the union announced that several locations along the Gaza and Lebanon borders would be exempt from the strike due to the security situation.