Teachers in State and Church schools have started a work to rule, restricting their activities to teaching and correcting, to press their claim for better allowances.

The directive was ordered by the Malta Union of Teachers after talks with the ministers of education and of finance collapsed.

MUT President John Bencini said the union had offered an interim solution for the issue, which has been dragging since 2007, but the only thing the ministers could come up with was a six month study, followed by talks which could involve other unions and other sectors.

There is still hope that the directive may not extend into the exam period, in three weeks' time, as both the teachers' union and the Education Ministry seem to be willing to continue discussing the union's proposed increases in teachers' allowances.

"God willingly we won't reach the point where exams will be affected by the industrial action," Mr Bencini said, adding that the union had not heard anything from the government since the action was declared on Tuesday.

However, a ministry spokesman said the government too was open to a resumption of meetings. "We are always willing to discuss," he said.

Meanwhile, teachers have been instructed to stick to minimum duties according to their job description that include teaching, correcting work, filling in attendance registers and supervision during break time.

All other activities, such as subject meetings, curriculum development sessions, school outings, extra-curricular activities, preparations for school functions and clerical work that includes filling in result sheets, are to stop.

Reacting to complaints made by parents to timesofmalta.com that the directives may lead to teachers having to call off First Holy Communion activities for children, Mr Bencini said a work-to-rule was a work-to-rule. The union had issued the directive with a heavy heart because it had no choice, he said. These things, he added, showed how the teachers did a million things apart from teaching, and this needed to be acknowledged and appreciated.

Mr Bencini said the directives apply to both government and Church schools since the increased allowances affects both. The government has an agreement with the Church to pay its teachers' salaries.