Israel's teachers protest against their difficult working conditions

The Teacher's Union also called on parents and on high-school teachers to join the demonstration. The conflict is unfolding on the backdrop of ongoing negotiations between the Education and Finance Ministries and the Union regarding a collective labor agreement, which has not been signed since 2019. The Union officially announced a labor dispute on May 14.

Israel is facing a shortage of teachers as many have left because of their poor conditions, and others are threatening to leave if they do not improve.

The chairman of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ran Erez, announced on Tuesday that if a solution is not reached, teachers would begin to disrupt certain school procedures such as refusing to give students end-of-year grades and report cards and not participating in end-of-year festivities. They later announced however that they would repeal the disruptions related to grades and report cards in order not to harm the students.

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Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton took to Twitter on Monday to express support for the teachers' plight. "The strength of the teachers' protest shows the severity of the crisis in the field and underlines that, more than ever, time is of the essence," she wrote.

"We will continue to fight so that the teachers' salaries will rise significantly and they standing will be stronger."

"It's time for teachers to receive normal salaries," said the Educational Kindergarten Teachers Organization which joined the protest. "We have rights, and we're here to fight for them. The time has come for the government leaders to wake up and save education in Israel.

"Thousands of kindergarten teachers leave every year because the salaries and conditions are pathetic. The kindergarten teachers must not be neglected. In the current situation, the industry will collapse in a matter of years."