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Histadrut Chairman Avi Nissenkoren and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon have officially signed a new wage agreement in the Israeli public sector.

The (framework) collective agreement that was signed concludes a long period of discussions between the Histadrut and the State of Israel and other employers in the public service, and sets a wage increase at a rate of 7.5% and a grant at a height of NIS 2,000 (approximately US$531) (of which the first half has already been distributed to most of the workers in January 2016).

This is the first framework agreement that gives a unique response to vulnerable workers populations, with emphasis on reducing gaps. Compared to previous wage agreements in the public sector which gave only adjustments of salary erosion, the current agreement was signed around zero or even negative inflation, which gives a significant realistic increase to the workers' wages, which will especially improve the lower wage levels.

In specific sectors, in which there are wage distortions that require correction, an increase higher than 7.5% was set. For example, among the medical support workers, including pharmacists, X-ray technicians, microbiologists and psychologists, a double wage increase was set at a rate of 15%. Thanks to the fact that half of the increase will be paid as a shekel wage increase, the low wage levels in these sectors will enjoy an average wage increase of more than 19%.

Similar to other preferred salary grades, also laboratory workers in schools will be entitled to a wage increase at a rate of 15%. The lab technicians in the education system will also enjoy an addition of six vacation days to utilize during the summer time. Another workers group that will enjoy a wage increase that's higher than 7.5% are the paramedical workers, including the medical technologists, dietitians, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, who will be entitled to an average wage increase at a height of 10%.

Also workers of the second tier and workers in the initial wage levels in the local authorities will be entitled to receive an enlarged wage increase, so that as of the first phase of the increase (which will apply in July 2016) they will receive an increase of an additional 2%, in addition to the increase that the rest of the public sector workers will receive (a total of 9.5% for all the period of the agreement).

Moreover, the framework agreement also improves the conditions of workers in student jobs and working parents (workers with children aged 0-12) in the public service. The hourly wages for students in the public sector will be higher by NIS 1 (approximately US$0.26) than the hourly minimum wage that is customary in the economy. In addition, the workers in a student job will receive an additional optional day and vacation day to utilize during the time period of tests. In order to facilitate working parents, the agreement determines that the workday will be shortened by one hour, for two weeks in August, when it will be possible to convert these hours into an additional vacation day.

The agreement signed on April 18 also addresses the issue of part-time jobs, in an attempt to reduce the phenomenon. It was agreed that the employees who deal with reception of the public at the Administration of Population offices will be able, if they choose, to advance to a full time job. It was also determined that the budgeting key for incomplete positions for social workers in the local authorities will be rounded up to prevent part-time jobs in this field (for example, a local authority receiving budgeting for 4.5 social workers will now receive budgeting for 5 positions). Employees in government hospitals, whose full time job is split between a part-time job at the government hospital and a part-time job at the Healthcare Corporation, will be absorbed into a full time job at the government hospital. In addition, a budget model will be built that will allow full-time jobs in the civil service and in the local authorities in the field of welfare. Population Administration offices employees who are employed in a part-time job will be allowed to switch to working a full time job.

The framework agreement signed on April 19 also includes an obligation to submit within 60 days a request for an extension order that will apply to approximately 6,000 social workers employed in non-profit organizations and private companies that provide services to the government and local authorities. The extension order will equalize the conditions of social workers in the budgeted bodies to the conditions of social workers in NGOs, including wage increases and grants.

The current wage agreement regulates for the first time the job security of the secretaries of the Ministers and Directors-General in the Ministries. There are approximately 200 employees in the public service who are employed in the format of positions of trust and fired randomly each time the Minister or Director-General changes. The agreement sets that the secretaries with six years of seniority or who have worked for at least two Directors-General or two Ministers will be entitled for the status of tenure.

Additional populations that are included in the new wage agreement are: women employed as Mikveh (Jewish ritual bath) attendants in the Religious Councils will get a 10% increase beyond the wage increases given to other employees (a manual labor increase that is customary in local authorities) in addition to the increase of 7.5%. Contract workers in the cleaning and security sectors in the public sector will be eligible for the salary increases and the grant. It is noteworthy to mention that on April 20 the Labour and Welfare Committee of the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) approved an order which regulates the mechanism for transferring the grant, at a height of NIS 2,000 (approximately US$531), to all cleaners and security workers in the public sector. The workers will receive NIS 1,000 (approximately US$266.5) in their upcoming wage and they will receive the second half of the grant with all the public sector employees in January 2017.

It was also agreed that the Magen David Adom (MDA) workers will receive a wage increase of 10% and laboratory workers and paramedics will receive a wage increase of 15%, when the calculating will be shifted in favor of the weaker workers.

The Histadrut Chairman, Avi Nissenkoren, said: "Now we can praise the successful completion of the agreement. This is an important agreement that corrects historical distortions and bears real news for many workers populations. The fact that this agreement succeeds, in practice, in strengthening the low-wage earners in the public sector, makes this agreement an important tool for reducing social gaps. I want to thank the Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon for the cooperation that he displayed and for helping reach an excellent agreement that increases the equality in the public sector."