Hebrew University Lay off 86 junior faculty members in the humanities

Hebrew University, Jerusalem

The university workers’ union’s lawyer says the move to fire some 20% of the staff was a violation of collective bargaining agreements signed in 2008 and 2010.

More than 80 junior faculty staff at the Hebrew University’s humanities division are facing dismissal as the university seeks to cut some 20 percent of the faculty. The workers’ union has petitioned the Jerusalem Labor Court to prevent what it calls an “immoral” act.

The group’s lawyer, David Gal, said the move to fire 86 junior staff was a violation of collective bargaining agreements signed in 2008 and 2010. The agreements were supposed to guarantee the job security and employment conditions of the junior faculty, he added.

Dr. Esther Sarok, chairwoman of the Non-Tenured Research and Academic Staff Union at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (known in Hebrew by the acronym Moach), said most of those being fired are experienced lecturers who have worked at the university for 20 years. “They are entitled to employment security. Some were supposed to receive long-term contracts for 10 years and more, and some were supposed to be transferred to a track similar to that of senior faculty,” Sarok said.

“This is unfair and immoral. These are lecturers who have been in the system for many years and filled the ranks during the years when there was no growth in the senior faculty, and therefore were not promoted,” she added.

“Since there were no tenured positions open, they were forced to work at several institutions and had no time for research,” Sarok said. “Today, they are unable to compete with young candidates since they did not do research and needed to make a living.”

The Council for Higher Education recognized this anomalous situation and understood there was a moral requirement to accept these people into the system, she said.

The situation is a complex one, said Giora Vala, the chairman of the Hebrew University Students Union. “The university management promised us that the layoffs will only be of those lecturers in courses where less than eight students registered. The big problem is that we need to find an appropriate and proper solution for the junior teaching faculty. We are calling on the university to hold a dialogue with the relevant bodies and not to impose a situation,” said Vala.

Hebrew University management said that this is part of an efficiency plan and the courses being cut are those that had only a very few students.