Following intensive talks between the Israel Teachers’ Union and the Ministry of Finance, the parties reached a deal that will prevent a strike, they said on Thursday.
Under the settlement, the treasury lowered its planned salary cut from 3.307% to 0.95% for teachers who are employed under the New Horizon framework, which is the main one for public schools. The cut was mandated in March for all public sector workers.
Though the reduced 0.95% cut will apply throughout 2025, December will include an extra temporary deduction, but it will be reimbursed in January 2026, ensuring no loss in annual salary from the extra deduction.
The treasury also scrapped its previously proposed four-month freeze on promotions, which means raises. Eligible teachers will now receive their promotions and raises as scheduled.
The Teachers Union agreed to a 91 shekel ($25) cut to their clothing allowances, which now stands at about $645 annually.
Payments for seniority-based raises will be frozen for four months (September–December 2025), with full resumption in January 2026. Rights tied to seniority will not be harmed.
A new bonus from a 2022 agreement, which was originally set to begin in September 2025, will be delayed to September 2026.
A general 1.2% salary reduction will apply in 2026, in line with public sector regulations.
The teachers also received one additional day off in 2025 and 2026 on Lag B’Omer, which this year falls on May 16.
Seen as a major concession by the government, the deal follows a partial strike on Sunday and threats of a longer one.
On Wednesday, thousands of teachers called in sick in a coordinated illegal strike. Many of them did this to protest the emerging deal, negotiated by Teachers Union secretary-general Yafa Ben David.
At noon, the Tel Aviv Labor Court ruled that they must return to work immediately and refrain from obtaining false sick days.
“This framework is the best that could be achieved in these challenging times Israel is facing,” Ben David wrote, referencing the fact that the salary cut was made to accommodate Israel’s war economy.
“We led an unprecedented legislative change—something that has never been done before for educators—in order to reach these agreements. It was achieved only after a relentless struggle led by the Teachers Union,” she said in a statement.