The reform being implemented in education should benefit not only our children but the country in general.
The agreement signed recently between the government and the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) was meant to facilitate this reform.
However, many MUT members are unhappy with the agreement for various reasons.
They feel the union has let them down and argue that they should have been consulted before the agreement was signed.
Contrary to the practice of other Maltese and European unions, the present MUT statute does not allow for this kind of arrangement, and it is the union council which finally accepts or rejects an agreement. I strongly believe this is wrong. Any future agreements should be approved by representatives of the particular sectors before being signed.
An early review of the recent government-MUT agreement on teaching grades is a must especially in the light of the recent anomalies caused by the agreements with the medical unions. Any matters open to interpretation in the present agreement should be settled once and for all. Such an addendum should ensure a fair deal for all teaching grades.
If I am elected MUT president this will be my number one priority. Many European trade unionists argue that in order to survive, trade unions must adapt or re-shape their traditional roles to be more relevant to present and future working conditions.
While so doing they have to be very careful to remain faithful to their special vocation, which is that of defending and promoting their members' interests on the basis of human rights and social justice.
The MUT can achieve these goals by encouraging active grassroot involvement and participation of school delegates in all the decisions affecting their members rather than through reactions to decisions already been taken by others. To achieve this a much bigger investment, including EU-funded training programmes, is needed for the training and formation of effective school delegates.
Members should feel they are being listened to members should not feel that union officials are distant from the reality of the school and the classroom. For this reason I feel that MUT officials should return to school duties after completing a maximum number of terms so as not to run the risk of turning into union bureaucrats jealously safeguarding their position. This period would surely have served them well and they can then continue with their teaching career.
Mr Micallef Debono is head of Guzè Galea Boys' Secondary School, Qormi. He is contesing the forthcoming MUT presidency election.