Teachers' union lifts directive

The teachers' union last night lifted a work-to-rule directive after it said the government agreed to examine the position of the teaching grades in relation to other professions in the public sector.

The Malta Union of Teachers said a working group would be set up and any anomalies that emerged from the exercise would be addressed by January 1.

The directive, which came into force on June 1 and as a result of which teachers restricted their activities to teaching and correcting, followed a dispute between the MUT and the government in April when the union insisted on amendments to the education reform agreement signed in June 2007. The proposed changes mainly consist in an increase in teachers' allowances in view of increases to other professions in 2007.