Teachers could be eligible for reduced working hours under a revision of the collective agreement which is due to be finalised in the coming days.

The condition, along with others negotiated in the past months, hinges on an agreement, between the government and the Malta Union of Teachers, on the financial terms, which should be discussed in a meeting next week.

Civil servants benefit from a swathe of family-friendly measures, including the option of working less than 40 hours a week for a wage that is also reduced proportionately. Teachers have been excluded from this but the new collective agreement would extend the option to them too although the minimum amount of hours they can work has still not been established.

"I believe the reduced hours option should be extended to the teaching grades and we have now sorted out the clause in the collective agreement that has to do with this," Education Minister Dolores Cristina said, describing this as "something very innovative in the teaching sector".

The union welcomed the option as a "positive move" but was cautious on committing itself before the final financial deal was agreed upon. MUT president John Bencini said it was premature to comment further before a final agreement was reached.

The agreement in question dates back to 2007. However, its implementation over the past two years proved to be riddled with problems and talks started to review it ahead of its statutory three-year expiry date.