שלום לחברות וחברי הסגל,
אנחנו פותחים היום בעיצומים בעקבות סכסוך העבודה, ביחד עם הסגלים האקדמיים הבכירים בשאר האוניברסיטאות. ההכרזה על העיצומים הייתה אמורה לצאת אתמול, אבל אישרנו בקשה של הות"ת לדחייה של 24 שעות בהתחלת העיצומים, בהם יו"ר ות"ת אמר שינסה להידבר עם נציגי ור"ה כדי לקבל מהם התחייבות לדרוש מהאוצר להוריד מסדר היום ומשולחן המשא ומתן הצעות למיניהן לשנות את מבנה השכר הנוכחי. לצערנו, הדבר לא עלה בידו ולכן אנחנו מתקדמים עם הצעדים הארגוניים כמתוכנן. מעבר לעדכון השכר, אנו נאבקים על עתיד האקדמיה והחופש האקדמי של כולנו, כולל של הנהלות המוסדות האקדמיים.
ביחד נצליח במאבקנו הצודק. בבקשה הקפידו למלא אחר ההנחיות כפי שמובאות במכתב המצורף.
אורן ושאול
ועד הסגל האקדמי הבכיר באוניברסיטה העברית
Dear Colleagues,
We begin today with sanctions following our labor dispute, together with the senior academic faculty members of the other universities. The original date for the sanctions was yesterday, but we agreed to postpone them by 24 following a request by the head of VATAT, who said he will try reach some progress on our behalf from VERA. Unfortunately, he was not successful, and so we move forward with the planned steps. Beyond our salary updates, we are fighting for the future of Academia in Israel, and for our academic freedom.
Together we will prevail in our just cause. Please be sure to follow the instructions as explained in the attached letter (see English translation below).
Oren and Shaul - The Senior Faculty Association
The following is an English translation of the original Hebrew version (attached), prepared for the convenience of some of our faculty members. In case of any discrepancy between versions, the binding version is the original, Hebrew, version.
Dear Colleagues,
As you well know, the faculty unions are in a labor dispute. The background to the dispute was provided in my previous letters and in faculty meetings held by the unions of each university. As of today, we will begin with sanctions aimed at advancing the negotiations about our salaries, which have eroded over the past three years.
Several faculty members questioned the timing of our dispute, given other struggles that are taking place in the country. Let me therefore clarify that the other initiatives, which are political in nature, are independent of our current dispute, which is purely professional and economic, and aimed at updating and maintaining the value of our salaries.
The sanctions are carefully measured, will be gradually and incrementally applied, and may reach the point of a full-blown strike. The sanctions are applied only after we have given the Association of University Heads (VERA) ample time to circumvent these measures, but to no avail. As of today, Monday, January 23rd 2023, we will all:
1. Refrain from responding to student queries about the current semester’s exams (neither via email or through office hours). The response to student approaches should be: “I am unable to respond to emails at this time. I will get back to you within a number of days”.
2. Refrain from submitting this semester’s “mo’ed aleph” exam or paper grades to the students or to the student secretariats.
3. Refrain from submitting “mo’ed bet” exam forms to the secretariats.
In the event that no progress will be made in the negotiations, additional sanctions will be applied. We will provide information about these further along. Please stay tuned for updates from your university’s faculty union.
We all regret the need to take action that will harm our students. Unfortunately, the university heads leave us no choice. Their actions speak to the little regard they hold to the erosion of our salaries, and all too often do they adopt the Ministry of Finance’s and the VATAT’s narratives against us. We truly hope that we will not be required to escalate the sanctions and that VERA, VATAT, and the relevant parties at the Ministry of Finance will regain their senses and promptly engage in serious and sincere negotiations with us.
Please be sure to follow these instructions by the letter. In the event of a need to diverge from these instructions, please contact the exceptions committee through your university’s faculty union, or directly through the Coordinating Council of the Faculty Associations (mo.metaemet@gmail.com).
We will not let the Ministry of Finance or VERA spark divides amongst us! Together we will keep a unified front and together we will prevail in our just endeavor.
Thank you for your cooperation
Anat Zeira