Academic faculty organizations, including lecturers, teaching assistants and researchers, have declared a grade freeze affecting approximately 80,000 university students in protest of university heads 'dragging their feet' in negotiations for a new wage agreement. The organization leaders, representing 15,000 faculty members, announced that reserve duty soldiers will be exempt from the sanctions and will receive their grades as usual. They claim that faculty members, who handle about 70% of academic teaching, suffer from poor conditions, reduced benefits and significantly lower wages compared to senior faculty and those with similar education in the private sector.