Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev has instructed the Director-
General of Bituach Leumi to submit a plan within two weeks
for the return of Bituach Leumi payments taken illegally from
teachers, after a Yated Ne'eman investigation one- and-
a-half years ago discovered the deduction was illegal and led
to a public battle over the issue.
Three weeks ago the Hebrew edition of Yated Ne'eman
reported a breakthrough in the campaign to reimburse teachers
for the double collections. Bituach Leumi issued instructions
to employers to pay teachers, including kindergarten
teachers, for salary deductions while on maternity leave. The
Chinuch Atzmai administration announced the teachers would
receive reimbursements with their next salary. However,
arrangements have not yet been made to reimburse teachers for
illegal deductions over the course of decades before 2003.
The total amount of the illegally collected deductions taken
from teachers throughout the education system and workers
receiving disability payments is estimated in the hundreds of
millions of shekels.
In Iyar 5762 Yated Ne'eman first uncovered the
mistaken violation of National Insurance Law, Paragraph 351,
which stipulates that monthly payments for teachers on
maternity leave or workers receiving disability are exempt
from Bituach Leumi deductions. This paragraph is particularly
relevant to teachers who receive salaries for school
vacations that overlap with their maternity leave (generally
workers who are not permitted to work for pay during this
period).
