Israel’s Ministry of Finance and the Histadrut Labour Federation have announced a new public sector wage agreement that is to see Government workers receive an 11 per cent pay rise over the next four years.
The amount is less than the 15 per cent the union was seeking for workers who have not had a salary increase in five years amid mounting inflation.
However, the sides also agreed to shorten the working week from 42 to 40 hours.
In addition, each worker is to get a NIS6,000 ($A2,475) one-off bonus with their April salary.
In return, the union will guarantee industrial peace until 2027 and State employers will be granted the ability to “improve service to the citizen through the introduction of technology and worker mobility” — something critics see as a move to water down worker protection laws.
A separate deal was also reached to improve the salaries of teaching assistants in Local Councils, who are not part of the teachers union.
The monthly basic salary of a new assistant will rise from NIS6,200 ($A2,557) to NIS7,200 ($A2,969).
They will also get a seniority bonus of NIS50 ($A20.62) per month for each year of experience.
Chair of Histadrut, Arnon Bar-David said the outcome of negotiations was an historic accomplishment.
“It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this historic and festive day for hundreds of thousands of public sector workers,” Mr Bar-David (pictured) said.
“After difficult years of a global epidemic, economic upheaval and a higher cost of living, in which the public sector gave its support for the recovery of the economy — now comes the good news and the appropriate reward for dedicated work for the benefit of the citizens of Israel.”
Head of the Budget Department in the Finance Ministry, Yogev Gardus called the agreement “responsible and correct, both for the workers and for the economy”.
Jerusalem, 3 March 2023
