The teachers’ union has warned of possible industrial action as talks over new
collective agreements proceed at snail’s pace.
The Malta Union of Teachers has been in discussion with the government for a
number of years over a new sectoral agreement and collective agreements for
teachers at Mcast and the Institute of Tourism Studies, amid concerns that current working conditions are leading to a haemorrhage of teachers out of the profession.
MUT president Marco Bonnici said this morning the union had presented its
final submissions on the agreements more than three weeks ago, in line with
deadlines agreed as negotiations ramped up in summer, but had received no
feedback from the ministry since then.
“Unless proper feedback is received very soon, the union will convene its
council to decide the way forward,” Mr Bonnici said, confirming that industrial
action was a likely outcome if the situation persisted.
Addressing a press conference, Mr Bonnici said the ongoing teacher shortage
had now become so dire that retired teachers as old as 77 had been asked to return to work, and “essential services” were being eaten away as complementary and guidance teachers were removed from their posts to take up classroom positions.
The shortage of LSAs, he added, was affecting services in Resource Centres,
with the reduction in personnel leading to limitations in the services provided to
students.
Acknowledging that a major factor behind the shortage was the lack of new
graduates, Mr Bonnici called for more work to attract students to take up the new teaching Masters degree, mentioning campaigns and possible stipend incentives.
Nevertheless, he said the shortage could be addressed in the short term by
ensuring better working conditions through the conclusion of the sectoral and
collective agreements.
“We can’t reverse the trend, but we have to slow it,” Mr Bonnici said.
READ: Teachers deserve more respect, says Education Minister
Mr Bonnici in an obvious reference to recent comments by the minister of education, said it expects action and not just pleasant words about respect for educators.
READ: Teaching profession is 'in crisis', says MUT chief
Institute for Education changes deplored
The MUT said it also deplored changes made at the Institute for Education, which is a teacher-training institution launched in 2015 following discussions between the Government and entities such as the Malta Union of Teachers, the University of Malta, the Council for the Teaching Profession, MCAST, ITS and other.
"The Union finds it deplorable that this Board, and with it the institute's independence, has been eliminated at the stroke of a pen and that the Education Ministry can now appoint directly his own people to take decisions about the various training programmes for educators without any consultation," MUT President Marco Bonnici said.
“While on one day the ministry speaks of respect and improvement of conditions, on the following we have these types of regressive decisions which are the exact opposite of what is preached."