The outgoing foreign minister and newly-appointed Energy Minister Eli Cohen solved the longstanding work dispute at the Foreign Ministry on Sunday.
On his final day in office, Cohen signed the new agreement along with the representatives from the Foreign and Finance ministries, the chairman of the workers' committee, and the Histadrut chairman at the Histadrut offices.
The longstanding Foreign Ministry work dispute
The two-year-long work dispute began following budget cuts and worsening work conditions, partially due to COVID-19.
Throughout this time, the Foreign Ministry Workers Union took a few steps to pressure the government into agreeing to its terms. These included strikes in consulates worldwide, which left many without important documents such as visas and passports.
The new agreement improves the workers' terms of employment, incentivizes missions in difficult countries and embassies with challenging security conditions, and rewards diplomats for mastering essential languages.
"The collective agreement to be signed in the coming weeks will apply to more than 1,200 employees of the ministry in Israel and abroad," the joint statement by the Histadrut and the two ministries stated.
"The agreement regulates the staff positions, along with the procedure for promoting employees" and "will make it possible to recruit high-quality cadets for the Foreign Service, namely due to updated salaries, with an emphasis on reducing gaps for low-paid workers," they said.
"Furthermore, a model will be introduced to incentivize language studies, which will allow the ministry to train diplomats to master different languages, for example: Arabic, Russian, German, and Spanish," the statement said, adding that "The agreement includes an improvement in wages and employment conditions for Foreign Ministry employees abroad and their family members who work in Israeli embassies around the world."
Ministers praise the agreement
"When I entered the Foreign Ministry, I made resolving the dispute in the ministry a central goal," Cohen said at the signing ceremony, thanking all those involved.
"The last few months, in which the employees of the Foreign Ministry repeatedly demonstrated their importance in the war effort and the security of the State of Israel, made clear the importance of the foreign service to national strength," he said.
"After years of neglect by the Foreign Ministry, we were able to bring good news to the ministry's employees and the citizens of the country," the outgoing minister said.
"The new document will allow the Foreign Ministry to continue to carry out the essential tasks for the security of the state and promote Israel's foreign relations."
Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich joined in praise: "The employees of the Finance Ministry are doing important work in the international arena, especially during this period, and I am happy that I had the privilege of leading the ministry at a time when we found solutions and reached understandings that bring an end to the ongoing dispute.
"The agreement will allow the personnel of the Foreign Ministry to do their work faithfully," he said, "and to promote the State of Israel by upholding its principles and truths."
Lahav Harkov and Zvika Klein contributed to this article.