In many respects, all teachers enjoy the same working conditions. But the fact is that when finances are involved, teachers who do not work in State schools have to wait their turn.

This scholastic year, State school teachers started working fewer ‘contact’ hours (17 hours and 20 minutes per week instead of 19 hours 30 minutes). Other teachers have been working for a whole scholastic year under the same pressures, especially with the continuous reforms that are going on, while still having the same amount of ‘contact’ hours.

According to the Malta Union of Teachers, this state of affairs is due to the State not giving finances to the other schools to pay for more teachers. There is no guarantee that next scholastic year is going to be any different.

No industrial action has been declared yet. The MUT says such an action will be issued if in October 2015, no changes are seen.

I think this will be too late. And are these teachers going to be compensated for working more ‘contact’ hours than their colleagues for a whole year?