Teachers' strike: Negotiations progressing, schools to resume Monday

Head of Teachers Union: FM 'finally laid down a concrete proposal' • A-G: Interim gov't can hold talks with Teachers Union over strike

 Yaffa Ben-David, head of the Israeli Teachers Union at a protest of Israeli teachers demanding better pay and working conditions in Tel Aviv on May 30, 2022 (photo credit: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90)
Yaffa Ben-David, head of the Israeli Teachers Union at a protest of Israeli teachers demanding better pay and working conditions in Tel Aviv on May 30, 2022
(photo credit: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90)

A temporary freeze on the teachers’ strike will continue on Monday after progress was recorded in negotiations between the Finance Ministry and the Israeli Teachers Union, the union said on Sunday evening.

The talks between union director-general Yaffa Ben-David and Finance Ministry’s Director of Salary and Employment Agreements Kobi Bar-Nathan revolve around an agreement on a new wage structure for teachers.

Following the first meeting between union and ministry officials on Thursday, the two sides progress toward a compromise in the meeting held today as the Finance Ministry "finally laid down a concrete proposal."

And yet, "there are still significant differences between the two sides," Ben-David warned. 

However, Ben-David added, the two parties agreed to meet again on Monday to continue the negotiations.

 Newly appointed Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara seen during a welcome ceremony for her in Jerusalem on February 8, 2022. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
Newly appointed Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara seen during a welcome ceremony for her in Jerusalem on February 8, 2022. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Ben-David announced a temporary pause to the strike after talks between her and Finance Ministry officials on agreeing to a new wage structure began.

A-G: Interim gov't can hold talks with Teachers Union over strike

Earlier on Sunday, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara ruled that the government would still be able to negotiate a solution to the teachers’ strike despite the Knesset’s expected dispersal.

The government’s legal status during election season won’t affect the government’s ability to end the strike, the attorney-general said.