An assistant who refuses to be tested will not receive pay until further notice.

March 7, 2021   

The Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court today (Sunday) rejected the request of a special education classroom assistant who refuses to be tested for COVID-19 and does not agree to regularly submit COVID-19 tests - and allowed the Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal local council to stop paying her salary.

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She will be placed on unpaid leave, pending a final decision on the request.

Council Chairman Yuval Arad said in the discussion: "These are children with special needs, whose sending to isolation in the event of the aide's illness is not similar to the isolation of a normal person.".

Arad added that the inability to sometimes convey to them the meaning of isolation intensifies the emotional and mental harm.

""The head of an authority derives his powers from the decree of the local councils. The responsibility determined by the legislator is for public health, for the whole, and he assumes that the individual is included within the whole," said Arad.

The head of the local council said: "The discussion is precedent-setting. It is about the students' fundamental right to life.".

Attorney Gilad Bartal, the assistant's attorney, said: "My client claims that she works with children in special education and that she worked throughout the entire period without being required to take coronavirus tests.

""It is her right not to be vaccinated and she cannot be forced to do so. What's more, the decision to perform a test will be valid on the day of the test and the head of the authority cannot force her to do so. We will wait for the court's decision. We do not know about my client's salary being terminated.".

לחרדים 10 נודע, כי בעלי רשתות גנים שוקלים לתבוע עובדות המסרבות להתחסן, במידה ויכניסו את יתר העובדות והילדים בגנים לבידוד. לדברי בעל רשת גנים, "גננות רבות לא מוכנות להתחסן, משום שהמצב הנוכחי נוח להן מאוד. שכן, בעוד המורים היו חייבים לאורך כל השנה לעבוד בזום או בטלפון עם ילדי הכיתות,  הגננות ישבות בבית ומקבלת כסף. אז למה שלא ירצו להמשיך כך?"

The Ashkelon municipality also informed educational staff that they must present a green card or a negative coronavirus test every two days - otherwise, they will not be allowed to enter the kindergartens.

Mayor Tomer Glam said: "We are taking another step in the war against the coronavirus with the aim of encouraging vaccination in the city, with an emphasis on the education system, against the backdrop of thousands of students and teaching staff who are in isolation and dozens of cases of illness. Despite all the difficulty in the decision, the health of the residents is above all else and we will act uncompromisingly.".

The Yad Sara organization also announced that they will not employ anyone who has not been vaccinated.

The CEO wrote in a letter to employees: "Most of Yad Sara's volunteers are elderly people who, God forbid, may become infected with the coronavirus. In recent days, most departments and divisions in the organization have already become 100%-safe, with all volunteers and employees holding a certificate of recovery from vaccination. An employee or volunteer who does not get vaccinated in the coming week with the first vaccination will not be able to continue his activities within the framework of Yad Sara and cannot enter the organization after Passover.".