Chairman of the Association of Secondary School Teachers Ran Erez did not mince words in his response Thursday to a government decision that would require teachers in the public school system to either hold a green pass, showing that they have been vaccinated against COVID or recovered from the virus, or proof of a negative COVID test to be allowed into their places of work.
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According to the decision, teachers not in compliance will not be allowed into the classroom and will not be paid for the missed days.
Erez said that his union was not willing to allow teachers' pay to be withheld and that work from home options should be provided for unvaccinated staff.
"The government's decision didn't come as a surprise. It's been hanging in the air since Sept. 1," Erez said.
"The Association of Secondary School Teachers will never agree to pay being withheld from [teachers] who aren't vaccinated or do not get tested, and suggests they be allowed to work alternate jobs form home – such as giving private lessons on Zoom, teach sick students online, etc."
Erez pointed out that the union had petitioned the High Court of Justice to mandate that secondary school students age 12 and over either be vaccinated or tested before they are allowed onto school premises.
"Students age 15 or 16, like teachers, can spread or contract [COVID] just like a 30-year-old or 40-year-old teacher," Erez said.
The decision to toughen regulations for educators came after a group of experts recommended that the cabinet change public health policies given the spike in COVID cases and deaths this past month.
"The ongoing scope of new cases this past month has taken a heavy toll in human lives," the experts said, adding that "despite the hope that the numbers will drop as a result of the [booster] shot campaign, it is impossible and unreasonable to continue on our current path, and policy changes must be made for the interim until we confirm that the number of serious cases are on a consistent decline," they said.
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The experts said that the government had adopted a policy of "hunkering down" and taken little action to stop the spread of the virus, despite having been warned that this approach was unfeasible.
"Many critical tools in stopping the virus, such as contact tracing, early detection, strict quarantine and enforcement measures, cannot be implemented at a stage where there are 8,000-10,000 new cases a day. The measures to check the spread cannot currently cope with the task," they warned.
The experts called the current tactic of managing the COVID crisis based on the number of patients in serious condition "dangerous."
