Rachlevsky: 4,000-5,000 teacher lay-offs without Dovrat reform

Ministry of Finance director of wages Yuval Rachlevsky: The Ministry of Education must prepare now for lay-offs.

3 April 05 17:59, Zeev Klein

Ministry of Finance director of wages Yuval Rachlevsky warned today that unless the Dovrat report is implemented this year, it will be necessary to fire 4,500 teachers immediately. Rachlevsky said that implementing the Dovrat report would avert the lay-offs, and make possible voluntary retirement on preferential terms.

Rachlevsky added that there was no reporting in the educational system, and no evaluation of teacher job performance. According to Rachlevsky, two hearings were required in order to fire a teacher in his or her first year on the job, and two more in the second year. Any subsequent firing requires a parity committee, which in effect gives the Histadrut Teachers Union a veto.

”The Ministry of Education should have prepared for lay-offs a month ago,” Rachlevsky declared at a cabinet meeting that discussed implementation of the report. “The NIS 700 million cut from the education budget will cause 4,000-5,000 lay-offs among teachers. Since it is not known whether agreement will be reached, and the deadline for lay-offs is May 31, the Ministry of Education must prepare now for lay-offs.”

NIS 500 million has been allocated in the 2005 budget for implementing the Dovrat report, and the Ministry of Finance has promised to allocate another NIS 200-300 million, depending on actual implementation.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on April 3, 2005