A long-standing, three-sided dispute between a group of high school teachers, Histadrut (Israel Federation of Labor) and the Ministry of Education led today to a threat by Minister of Education Zalman Aranne that he would resign from the Cabinet unless he is supported by his own party inside the Cabinet.
The dispute concerned, originally, demands by the high school teachers that they receive higher salaries and increased social welfare benefits. Dissatisfied with their representation inside Histadrut, the teachers organized a union of their own, and have been on a “non-cooperation” strike for more than two months, refusing to cooperate with school heads or with the Education Ministry.
At a special meeting of the Cabinet today, dealing with this issue, Mr. Aranne insisted he would negotiate settlement terms with the splinter union. Members of his own Mapai Party, however, influenced by Histadrut, opposed his proposal, insisting that he must not recognize the group that had split from Histadrut. At the end of the Cabinet meeting, Mr. Aranne walked out in a haft. It is believed that the entire issue will be tabled until Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion returns from his current visit to England.
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