The Church has been threatened with industrial action by the teachers’ union.

The teachers’ union has declared an industrial dispute with the Church’s education arm after it refused to allow a candidate to appeal a decision to fill the post of assistant head.

The Malta Union of Teachers also threatened the Secretariat for Catholic Education with industrial action over the lack of agreement on recruitment and promotion procedures.

The dispute arose last week after the MUT expressed outrage at the fact that a teacher, who had applied for the post of assistant head and did not make it by just one point, was not given the right to appeal the decision.

This was a basic right which could not be disallowed, the union argued.

However, the secretariat insisted that the collective agreement, signed with the union, provided for a right of appeal in the selection process for heads of school but not for other posts.

The Church had accused the union of wanting to go beyond the terms of the agreement.

It is ironic that out of all employers, the Church…is clutching to the letter of the agreement to circumvent its legal and moral obligations

In a statement yesterday, the union said that certain principles and procedural aspects, based upon natural justice and fundamental rights, should be upheld by the secretariat. There was no need for the same principles to be spelt out in the collective agreement, the union said.

It argued that the secretariat should be accountable to its employees and the public since teaching grades salaries were paid from public funds.

“It is indeed ironic that out of all employers, the Church secretariat for Catholic Education is clutching to the letter of the agreement to circumvent its legal and moral obligations to adhere to basic fundamental rights,” it said.

The union said it is reserving the right to resort to industrial action if the situation remains unresolved.