Government employees earned 60% more than the average salary in Israel - NIS 16,991

The Ministry of Finance's official in charge of salaries in the Ministry of Finance, Kobi Bar-Natan, published today (Tuesday) the report on wage expenditures in the civil service and the defense bodies for 2019. The report focuses on government ministries, the government health system, the government education system and the defense system.
The average monthly salary in government ministries in the past year was almost 60% higher than the average salary in the economy. The average salary in government ministries in 2019 was NIS 16,991, compared to the average salary in the economy that year was NIS 10,784.
It also shows that state expenditures for workers in the entire public sector in 2019 amounted to about NIS 194 billion - which constitutes half of the state budget this year. This is a high figure compared to OECD countries. This amount increased by 5.4%, which is about ten billion shekels compared to 2018, due to the increase in the number of jobs and the increase in wages, in accordance with the collective agreements of state employees.
As of this year, about 205,000 employees are employed in the public service in about 180,000 jobs. The report shows, among other things, that the gender gaps continue to narrow, two-thirds of civil servants are in a labor dispute and employee turnover rates are low compared to the private sector.
According to the report, which analyzes the year before the outbreak of the corona plague, the public sector is responding more slowly to crises compared to the rest of the economy. Bar Natan called for seizing the opportunity to lead necessary reforms in the public service. He said, "During the crisis, there was a lot of talk about the budget adjustments required in the public sector. I have no doubt that with the start of the crisis, the public sector will also contribute its share to these adjustments, as was the case in crises in the past."
The reform promoted by the government to encourage interns to stay in the periphery after the internship period has failed. According to the Wage Commissioner's report, despite a string of significant incentives, only 7% of non-peripheral interns remained in it. The report also points to significant wage gaps between adults and young people, and between men and women.
The report also shows that 81% of the workers in the health system in Israel earn more than the average wage in the economy. Data from the Ministry of Finance indicate significant wage gaps in the industry, which the Ministry of Finance finds difficult to change. In the public sector, there is a 4.9-fold pay gap between adults and young people. This figure is also true for pharmacists and laboratory workers, where wages are relatively low.
The report shows that the annual salary expenses of the largest employer in the public sector, the Ministry of Education, reached more than NIS 23 billion in 2019. According to the report, the average full-time wage in the Ministry of Education this year was NIS 13,700 - 27% higher than the average wage in the economy that year.
Education system reforms have increased the salary of teachers in the education system by tens of percent. Thus, in 2019 it stood at about NIS 38.6 billion. However, there has been no improvement in the skills of teaching staff, and they are among the lowest in OECD countries.
The salaries of defense system workers are considerably higher compared to parallel workers in the civil service, and the budgetary pension payments to retirees of the defense bodies are particularly high in relation to the pension payments in the public sector. These payments place them in the top deciles of pension income and exceed NIS 11,000 on average. Retired officers in the IDF, the police and the secret bodies receive an average of NIS 20,000, which places them in the top decile of pension income throughout the economy.