NEWS BLOG - May 27, 2008
Jerusalem — Junior lecturers in Israel called off a series of work stoppages today after they reached agreement on salaries and working conditions with university heads.
The breakthrough removed the threat of another crippling strike at Israeli colleges, where studies have been disrupted twice in the past year because of labor actions by students and by senior professors.
According to the new agreement, nontenured lecturers and teaching assistants, who are mostly drawn from the ranks of master’s and doctoral students, will enjoy a 17.5-percent pay rise, contracts extended beyond their current eight-month duration, and, for the first time, a package of social benefits that includes pension rights.
The deal was reached after the personal intervention of Israel’s education minister, Yuli Tamir.
Menachem Magidor, president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and newly appointed head of the Committee of University Presidents, said he was satisfied with the outcome. “I am pleased that the principles of the agreement have been agreed so that studies can continue as normal,” he said. “We have reached a good arrangement which provides a framework for the employment of the junior lecturers.” —Matthew Kalman
Posted on Tuesday May 27, 2008
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