All teachers would have received their promised allowances by the next salary, the government said yesterday following a complaint by the teachers’ union.

The Malta Union of Teachers said that, according to the collective agreement signed in August, government school teachers were meant to receive their increased allowances as from last month. However, this did not happen even though the government had been given sufficient time to process the allowances.

The government explained that about 5,000 teachers, of various ranks, would benefit from the allowances and the processing took time. Some teachers had already received their allowances and all teachers would be receiving them in the next salaries, it promised.

The long-awaited collective agreement was signed in August and covered all government educational staff. It included an increase in allowances that will cost the government €3.9 million over the first three years.