Updated 11.30am - Added ministry replies
The Union of Professional Educators has registered an industrial dispute with the Foundation for Educational Services after SkolaSajf staff were informed they would be paid in October.
The decision was confirmed by union president Graham Sansone yesterday.
Earlier this month, the teachers’ union said foundation officials had notified the employees their payments would be delayed. According to the information supplied to the summer school staff and seen by Times of Malta, the initial payment is projected for September 7 with a second payment following on October 10. SkolaSajf ends on September 7.
Such delays in authorising pay, Mr Sansone said, could constitute a breach of the Employment and Industrial Relations Act, which laid down that employees should receive payments at regular intervals and arrears must not exceed four weeks.
“We are pleased to be at the forefront of educators’ rights. This is being shown in a proactive manner with immediate action being taken on various issues. The SkolaSajf saga is being tackled by the UPE after this section of educators had been forgotten for many years,” Mr Sansone said.
This section of educators had been forgotten for many years
He noted that, though there was no reply to emails on the matter, a meeting would be held with the education authorities on Tuesday to discuss the issue.
An Education Ministry spokesperson said that it would be reviewing payment procedures for part-time and seasonal workers in the coming years.
Workers would be paid in two separate installments this year, rather than the three pay dates of last year, the spokesperson said.
They added that the Foundation for Educational Services had met with a "very small" number of employees who had questions about this and felt that the employees had "understood the issue".
The dispute follows repeated complaints by educators that working conditions were not up to par, insisting there were staff shortages which led to overcrowding in classes.
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said that, after looking into the matter, he was informed there were no such shortages and that the summer school programme was running smoothly.
The Foundation for Educational Services, which offers the summer programme to over 12,000 children in over 59 centres, denied there were any issues.