MUT puts work-to-rule directive on hold
'May 11 meeting must be held'
State school teachers, who staged a one-day strike yesterday, return to their classrooms on Monday after their union decided to put a work-to-rule directive on hold.
The strike emptied state schools of students and teachers, but late in the day the Malta Union of Teachers and the Education Ministry agreed that the work-to-rule directive would be postponed, allowing them to discuss amendments to the July 2007 education reform.
They said they would be meeting on May 11 to decide on a meeting schedule.
"Teachers keep the system going because they do a lot of work that goes outside their duties. That is why we want to ensure they are paid what they are due through the amendments," MUT president John Bencini said.
The "success" of yesterday's strike, backed by about 96 per cent of teachers, ensured that the message got through to the government, he said.
The union ordered the strike and the work-to-rule directive in schools last week, accusing the government of failing to submit counter-proposals to its proposed amendments to the education reform.
The proposals included new requests such as increases in allowances, new wages for new posts and cutting the number of students in each class.
The government had insisted that talks on the amendments should continue once discussions on supply teachers, kindergarten assistants and learning support assistants were concluded. The talks revolved around improving work conditions and job security of the supply category, among other things.
An eleventh-hour conciliation meeting on Wednesday evening yielded no results and the strike went ahead.
The MUT council met yesterday and decided to postpone the work-to-rule directive scheduled for Monday, when junior lyceum exams start. Mr Bencini explained that the council decided to postpone the action on condition that the May 11 meeting was held.
On Monday, the two parties will be meeting with the aim to finalise the supply staff issue, leaving the coast clear for the reform to be discussed.
The MUT had originally also called a strike in Church schools but this was called off after the union and the Church authorities reached an agreement last Sunday.
Three schools visited by The Times yesterday were almost totally deserted. There were a couple of teachers but they refused to talk.
When asked about this, Mr Bencini said he had even heard about a teacher in Gozo who defied the strike to the point that she encouraged children to go to school. "I hope that if she gets the allowance she will give the money to charity," he said sarcastically.