The Supervised Daycares and Teachers' Forum warned that in the current situation, daycares will not be opening at the beginning of the upcoming school year in a press conference on Sunday.
The press conference comes after a decision made by the government last week said that daycare prices would be raised for parents, but teachers' salaries would only be raised by dozens of shekels.
The daycare industry is in the midst of a crisis as a result of the teachers' low salaries. Many teachers quit every year, and the industry is suffering from a major shortage in manpower which has led to hundreds of daycares being closed a year.
The forum announced on Sunday that if a solution was not met, approximately 1,500 daycares will not open for the coming year, leaving over 100,000 babies and toddlers without a routine.
Daycares cannot continue like this
"The State of Israel forsook infant education," said the forum's chairman Lior Gabai. "Transferring the daycare to the Education Ministry did not achieve anything nor did it upgrade the standing of the daycare teachers."
"Daycares were created to allow parents to go out and make a living and give a suitable education to their children," said Na'amat Chairwoman Hagit Pe'er. "The Pricing Committee that met after our long battle suggested a band-aid solution that pokes the parents in the eyes.
"We don't have the ability in the current situation to manage the daycares."
Naamat Chairwoman Hagit Peer
"Infant education is not a luxury, it's the state's duty," said Wizo Director-General Mira Mins. "We are demanding a 20% raise in educators' salaries."