The teachers' union announced over the weekend that as part of a protest against the delay in formulating the wage agreement, studies at all educational institutions across the country will start late on Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
The labor dispute includes kindergartens, elementary schools and middle schools. Special education institutions will conduct studies as usual.
The union stated that the escalation of the labor dispute was due to "the contempt and disregard of the prime ministers - [Naftali] Bennett and [Yair] Lapid - and of Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman and his ministry officials for the bleeding system that needs immediate rescue. Only a wage agreement will prevent the abandonment leading to the collapse of the education system."
"They will find themselves alone without an education system and with an army of angry and frustrated parents."
Yaffa Ben-David, head of the Teachers Union
Teacher's Union head Yaffa Ben-David said that "if Lapid, Bennett and Liberman do not wake up quickly, they will find themselves alone without an education system and with an army of angry and frustrated parents, angry at their contempt and inability to manage a simple crisis. Agreements can be reached by the end of the month, if they just stop acting laxly and instruct the officials to do their job."
Liberman: The strike is completely unnecessary
In response, Liberman said at the "Shabbatarbut" event in Beersheba that "Ran Erez and Yaffa Ben-David must be part of the solution, but it cannot just be giving and giving. It is a negotiation. The strike is completely unnecessary; it does not add anything. I really appreciate Yaffa Ben-David and have known her for years.
"It cannot be that we come to the negotiating room and first of all they tell us - take the salary and the vacations off the table," he said.
"In my view, the easiest thing is to say – I did not come to fix the world, let's sign, give them everything they want – and everyone will be happy," the finance minister said. "I will not go to any agreement that I do not believe is the right agreement. The right agreement includes also adjustments on vacations and expresses excellence in the education system."
In the education system, "the most important component is the quality of the teacher," Liberman said. "Not the building, not the equipment and not the gadgets. You have a good teacher – you will get good students.
"Investing in a teacher is first and foremost the ability to bring good people from hi-tech and industry into the education system," he said. "This cannot be done without differential pay. There must be a reward for excellence."