Teachers have expressed shock at the treatment received by certain Church school heads pushing their union to appeal for a reform of the recruitment process in Church schools.

In a statement this morning, the Malta Union of Teachers called for an urgent meeting with Archbishop Charles Scicluna to reform the process to reflect honesty, transparency and good practice to be embarked upon.

It said it was not excluding action, which might include naming and shaming schools resorting to shameful practices.

The MUT said that in the last weeks it was informed by various members about shambolic practices that were not only a shame on those schools and their leaders but also a far cry from the “Catholic practice” being suddenly expected from Church school teachers.

The union outlined a number of examples of abuse, including teachers being blatantly told during the interview that they were female and, therefore, could not expect to get employment in a particular school since the school wanted male teachers.

Others teaching jobs were being terminated on probation for no apparent reason; teachers were being called in for an interview and never given a result only to later discover that the vacancy had been filled or that the call of applications was being reissued; and some were recruited as supply teachers and negated the opportunity for regular employment even though the vacancies were permanent.

Teachers of specific subjects were also terminated on probation and replaced by an unqualified priest or religious person.

The MUT said that, in view of this, it was no wonder that certain Church schools were avoiding collective central recruitment by the secretariat for Catholic education at all costs.

“The excuse of having a different ethos is just a smokescreen to cover up realities from schools wanting to avoid regularising these abusive practices,” the MUT said.

It said its members were shocked by the treatment received by certain Church school leaders who should be leading by example.

CURIA REPLY

The Secretariat for Catholic Education in a reply said  it disapproved of any alleged irregular recruitment practices which may have been adopted by certain schools.

"The Secretariat also disapproves of the MUT’s practice of writing to the Archbishop and issuing a press release with the contents of the letter within two hours. It is worth noting that the Archbishop has already accepted to meet the MUT," the Secretariat said.

"It is also disappointing to note that instead of adopting a collaborative approach, the Union is resorting to such practices and sweeping statements. The MUT practice, to go public without discussing with the Secretariat the contents of said grievances, goes against the spirit of the MUT agreement with the Church Authorities which is aimed at finding amicable settlement of all complaints. The Secretariat feels it should be informed by the Union in cases of alleged irregularities or unjust treatment, for immediate action to be taken."