Jerusalem, Feb 6 (IANS): The Israeli Secondary School Teachers' Association staged a strike in high schools in the country for a pay increase.
Some middle school teachers who are members of the association also took part in the strike, which aimed to pressure the Finance Ministry into reaching a new collective agreement with teachers in time, as the previous one had expired more than a year ago, reports Xinhua news agency.
The association said in a statement that the ministry had yet to negotiate such an agreement, leaving the teachers with "no one to talk to".
The organisation demands, among other things, that the minimum salary of a secondary education teacher be raised to 12,000 new shekels ($3,511).
Responding in a statement, the Ministry claimed that it was not avoiding the talks and called on the teacher's association to get back to the negotiations.