National Labor Court ends teachers’ strike
Israel’s National Labor Court has decided to force striking secondary school teachers back to work. The court approved the government’s request at midnight on 4 December to issue an injunction against the teachers calling for classes to resume on 13 December (following Israel’s Hanukkah holiday period). Secondary school teachers have been on strike for nearly two months.
The injunction request was filed by the Finance and Education Ministries, prompting a series of hearings during which the court essentially acted as mediator in the negotiations. The two sides will continue to negotiate an agreement over the next few days under the shadow of the injunction.
Finance Minister Roni Bar-On called the injunction a “last resort,” and said the government was still committed to continuing the talks. “We know the crisis will not be solved by force but by talking and reaching an agreement with the SSTA on reform," he said.
The Secondary School Teachers Association (SSTA) decided yesterday to suspend its appeal to the High Court of Justice against the labor court ruling and to proceed with negotiations. However, the head of the SSTA, Ran Erez, said that “if we see in a few days that there is no progress, we will file the appeal”.
A poll conducted for Ynet by the Rafi Smith Institute revealed yesterday (5 December) that 64% of the public support the teacher's in their struggle while only 19% said they support the government's position. The remaining 17% said they did not have an opinion on the matter.