A 25-day-old teacher strike in Israel continues to keep about 500,000 students and 40,000 teachers out of as many as 1,700 junior high and high schools, U.S. and world news sources reported.
The Secondary School Teachers Organization, Israel’s second largest teacher union, began its strike Oct. 10 in response to failed negotiations with the Education Ministry for higher wages and better working conditions.
On Thursday, the Israeli education and finance ministries asked the National Labor Court to force the teachers to return to work. The Court has not yet taken action.
Members of the National Parents Association, in response to the ministry’s request, have threatened to keep their children out of all public schools. The parent organization does not believe teachers should be forced to teach under such poor conditions.
Currently, Israeli teachers make an average of $17,568 per year, as compared to the overall average Israeli salary of $23,616 per year, according to per-month statistics from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics in July 2007. In the United States, the average salary for all teachers is $47,602, according to 2004-2005 statistics from the American Federation of Teachers.