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MUT meets fireworks factory official

The public relations officer of St Michael’s fireworks factory of Lija has met officials of the Malta Union of Teachers in a bid to assure them that nearby schools are in no danger.

The union earlier this week ordered part of the grounds of Giovanni Curmi Upper Secondary School to be closed because of its proximity to an area from where petards are let off.

The union said that fireworks factory official, Joseph Mangion, called at the Teachers’ Institute to explain that the fireworks factory was built according to legal requirements and no danger existed to the schools complex in Naxxar.

He agreed to provide the union with official documentation certifying that the distance between the fireworks factory and the schools conforms with the law. He also offered to provide all the necessary guarantees for the protection of the artificial turf recently laid on the grounds of the Upper Secondary School.

The fireworks factory will also ensure that the area is free from any unexploded material when petards are let off for the feast of Our Saviour at Lija, as has always been done.

Discussion will continue so as to ascertain peace of mind of all concerned, the MUT said.

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Comments

Alfred Farrugia (3 weeks ago)
I have taught at the Secondary Technical School, Naxxar, as it was then know, for 13 years between 1966 and 1979. I do not know how far the school grounds have been extended towards the fireworks factory during recent years, if any. If I am not mistaken, the school is closed during the time of the Lija feast, so the fireworks factory personnel have all the time at their disposal to check the school grounds with the approval of the school authorities for unexploded petards.

The question is at what time workers produce fireworks. Is this done during school hours? Have the school authorities ever been informed about what goes on in the factory during school days and school hours? It is right for the MUT to be concerned, but it should check the facts before taking a position and making public statements. The MUT should not go from one extreme of doing nothing for 40 years about an issue to another extreme of alarming students, parents and teachers without reasonable cause to appear to be doing something.
Diane Giordimaina (3 weeks ago)
To whom it might concern...all these worries should have been considered when the school was opened since the fireworks factory has been there long before. Another thing is that authorities should first seek for those illegal factories who are the real worry not for those which are according to law.
R. Schembri (3 weeks ago)
The government should seriously consider relocating all the fireworks factories on the island of Filfla, or perhaps the eastern side of Comino island. There they can blast away to their hearts' content while die-hard aficionados can watch their village fireworks display from the safety of boats and from the shore. And all other common citizens can then enjoy petards-free summer evenings whilst those living in the vicinity of today's fireworks factories can live peacefully without the constant fear of being blown up to high heavens.
Noel Saliba (3 weeks, 1 day ago)
The question we have to ask now is How good are the fireworks laws? With the current laws any organization can fire petards close or inside the school grounds because they are not inhabited places. This practice happens in Gozo where on the next day the uncollected unexploded petards have to be picked by school staff. What happens if one is left lurking in a hidden corner?

What happens when petards are fired from a hill still 183 metres away from houses? Since the hill is very high the whole residential area under the hill fills with unexploded bombs and very cancerous chemicals! This practice happens in Gozo especially in Victoria.

I wonder how many crocodile tears the ministers will have for this year's fireworks victims? I also truly wonder when the Police are going to start safe guarding the public and using common sense which seems immensely lacking from the Maltese Authorities?
Hector Farrugia (3 weeks, 1 day ago)
John Bencini is now exaggerating. How long has he been President of the MUT? WHY SPEAK NOW Gann? because elections for the MUT leadership are coming? To show yourself that you are a knight in shining armour? The fireworks factory has been there for ages! WHY NOW dear Ganni Bencini? To show how militant you are?

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