Teachers' union sets new deadline for end of talks

The Malta Union of Teachers has given the government until next Wednesday to conclude discussions on two pending disputes.

It requested the Education Minister to come up with counter proposals on its draft amendments to the education reform.

It also asked for the conclusion of other pending negotiations revolving around the working conditions of supply teachers, who are employed on a temporary basis.

If the deadline is not met, the union's council will that day convene to discuss what action to take, MUT president John Bencini said yesterday. "We will not exclude anything," he said.

The union ordered teachers to strike for one day two weeks ago over what it says is the government's failure to submit the counter proposals.

"It's not fair that they keep prolonging this issue... We fear that it will be dragged on beyond this scholastic year and we'd have to wait till the next year to solve it," Mr Bencini said, adding that the ministry had been presented with the union's proposed amendments in February.

In a letter sent to the government, the MUT also asked for negotiations over the amendments to the June 2007 collective agreement to be concluded by the first weeks of June.

A ministry spokesman said his office had not yet received the letter and would not comment at this stage.

Yesterday the union's council met with urgency after the union emerged dissatisfied from a meeting with the government on Monday, when the two parties were meant to agree on a schedule of meetings to discuss the union's proposed amendments to the reform.

The council wrote in its letter that "a timely resolution of all the pending issues is of paramount importance to restore the peace of mind of all teaching grades in state schools".

Monday's meeting was one of the conditions against which, last week, the union had agreed to suspend a work-to-rule directive in government schools.

The union had also ordered a one-day strike, on April 30, and a work-to-rule in schools that was meant to start last week.

The union's proposals include new requests such as increases in allowances, new wages for new posts and reducing the number of students in each class.