Last week, after a two-year delay and a protracted struggle that harmed all parties, the long-awaited agreement with the Teachers Association was signed. Naturally, in a salary agreement both sides gain, but we believe that some of the Ministry’s important achievements in the latest agreement may have a positive impact on secondary education in the years to come. Many of the points carried in the agreement were recommended by us in recent years, and we are glad that the Ministry of Finance insisted on them, even if not to their full extent.

1.  Further lessening the disparity between new and veteran teachers – An equal salary increase of 2000 NIS over the next four years means that the growth rate of teachers’ salaries is higher than veteran teachers’. In fact, the pay increase of the highest-paid teachers in the system will not rise above the rate of inflation, while the pay of beginner teachers will rise significantly more. This improvement will facilitate the recruitment to the field of education from a stronger demographic.
2. Beyond closing the gap, there will be greater reward for dedication and excellence – Compensation for additional duties is now higher, albeit not as high as we think it should be in some cases, and school principals will be given the option to define the additional duties that entitle teachers to additional compensation – such flexibility will enable principals to retain quality personnel and incentivize dedication and excellence.
3. Raising the salaries of beginner school principals –The average salary of school principals was high even before the agreement, but it too was heavily influenced by seniority. Like the starting salary of principals in elementary schools, the starting salary of high school principals in small institutions will be significantly increased, opening the door to the recruitment and compensation of quality hires. In this regard, a complementary move on the part of the Ministry of Education should be to remove barriers to entry to this important position and increase the pool of potential candidates.
4. Personal contracts – Despite Ran Erez’s attempt to obscure this gain, the Ministry of Finance has scored a significant victory. In similar fashion to the agreement with the Teachers’ Union, it will be possible to recruit up to 6% of each year’s teaching staff on the basis of personal contracts. This will open up the possibility of recruiting outstanding students from advanced disciplines or individuals of quality to transition from other professions to the teaching discipline, and reward them with high salaries from the outset without granting them tenure. School principals will also be able to enjoy higher-salaried personal contracts. The fact that this is a limited-time trial is largely meaningless, since the trial will end as the salary agreement does. If the project is as beneficial to the system as we believe it to be, it will be difficult to rescind later on. We would prefer, of course, that teachers within the system be allowed to move to personal contracts as well, there being no logic in discriminating against them, and we further hope that the 6% cap be removed in the future.
5. An additional frontal teaching hour instead of three remedial teaching hours – this may indeed save the system the cost of two thousand teachers, and the Ministry of Finance certainly has an interest in cutting costs in these financially challenging times, but we believe the entire method is outdated. We would prefer that schools be granted more budgetary flexibility and autonomy to define their teachers’ work schedule, according to the local needs and individual teachers’ capabilities. When budgets built of a set sum per pupil are transferred to each school, it will be possible to fully utilize the teaching staff according to the schools’ priorities, without separating their salaries from other budget components.

Ran Erez gained nothing from protracting the negotiations, and not only did the strikes and other measures cause the students to suffer, it harmed teachers as well:

1. For the first time, an Israeli labor union strike was broken without having any achievement to show for it. Apart from the fact that the Ministry of Finance headed by Bezalel Smotrich commendably withstood the pressure, many schools and teachers used their own judgment and and continued to teach, understanding that the strikes and additional measures were not actually aimed at improving their employment conditions but stood against public and educational interests. Ran Erez only very belatedly realized that the community of teachers he represents by force is not blindly loyal to his interest of full control, thus returning him to the negotiating table in a weaker position and ready to compromise.
2. Teachers will be able to make up most days of the strike with vacation days; however, two days will not be returned and they will lose those days’ pay. Teachers who broke the strike, though, will receive a bonus for the compensatory days. We are still awaiting the court decision on whether or not the Ministry of Finance can deduct pay for the strike measures that took place in the previous school year; such a ruling would be welcome tidings in Israeli labor law, which up to now has been reluctant to impose a price for publicly harmful protracted strikes.
3. The salary increases promised last summer were only granted a year later, and the new agreement will apply only in a year’s time. Instead of a 600 NIS increase in the current payment installment, teachers will receive only 400 NIS.
4. Last year’s delayed supplementary payments in the amount of 9600 NIS will be paid as a single grant and taxed accordingly, unrecognized for any accompanying social conditions.

Alongside the many successes, the Ministry also paid prices we don’t think will benefit public education goals. The percentile bonus for professional development credits is of particular benefit to veteran teachers and not educationally justified; also, no progress was made on the issue of simplifying the process for dismissing teachers.