5000 education sector workers to receive an employment grant

The agreement will apply to over 5,000 workers. As part of the agreement, grants will be paid in two installments of NIS 2,000 each. Chairman of the Union of Clerical and Public Service Employees (UCAPSE) Adv. Gil Bar-Tal: “This is another achievement for the education sector employees in the local authorities, and this is only the beginning.”

UCAPSE, the representatives of the school’s secretaries, administrators, accountants sector, and the Federation of Local Authorities have agreed with the Ministry of Finance to pay a one-time grant to employees dealing with the Gefen system (budget management software in the education system). The agreement will apply to over 5,000 workers; its estimated cost is NIS 25 million.

As part of the agreement, grants will be paid in two installments of NIS 2,000 each according to the following distribution: the first installment will be paid to eligible workers in the January 2023 salary (paid in February 2023) and at the latest in the February salary (paid in March 2023). A second installment will be paid in the July 2023 salary (paid in August 2023).

The grants will be paid according to a key of entitlements as specified in the agreement:
In a school with up to 500 students, one employee will be eligible to receive the grants.
In a school with over 500 students, two workers will be eligible for the grants.
In a six-year school (middle and upper school) where up to 500 students study, two workers will be eligible to receive the grants – one for middle school and one for high school.
Three workers will be eligible to receive the grants in a six-year school (middle school and upper school) where over 500 students study. Of these, at least one is in middle school, and at least one is in high school.

The agreement was achieved after a long struggle and a declared labor dispute following the decision to introduce the Gefen software into use in the schools. The practical meaning of introducing the software is to impose additional tasks on the administrative staff and increase the workload.

Chairman of UCAPSE, Adv. Gil Bar-Tal: “This is another achievement for the education sector workers in the local authorities. The UCAPSE of the Histadrut will continue to work tirelessly to promote all the workers and sectors it represents and will take care of their well-being, wages, and terms of employment. I am happy that the school secretaries, administrators, and accountants are the first to benefit.”

The Head of the Federation of Local Authorities, Haim Bibas: “At the end of negotiations with the Histadrut, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Education, we obtained a reward for eligible employees who operate the Gefen program, with the receipt of a one-time financial grant for their hard work in implementing the program. The Gefen program was launched last year, which gives administrative flexibility to the authorities, the locality, and the school administrators. To the satisfaction of all parties, the agreement reached will contribute to its continued success.”