Zminijietna - Voice of the Left disagrees with the proposal made by the Chamber of Commerce for a compulsory increase in school hours.

We believe that the purpose of this proposal is merely to completely remove any responsibility on the employers to introduce family-friendly measures. In fact the same Chamber of Commerce had already taken a stand against an increase in the maternity leave.

Family friendly measures introduced by the government are also finding resistance from the private sector. The few measures being taken by the private sector to promote work - life balance are only intended to take advantage to push forward atypical work which we consider it to be precarious.

On the other hand we agree with Malta Union of Teachers which is objecting to a compulsory increase in the school hours and are advocating for a system similar to the one adopted by the ‘Education for Educational Services’, where they’re offering training programmes for children after school hours on a voluntary basis in various fields including drama, music and sports.

Zminijietna believes that the compulsory increase in the school hours will cause distress and unnecessary pressure on the teachers, parents and children. We understand that teachers are also parents and that children have a right to have time for doing ‘homework’ and for recreation.

David Pisani

Zminijietna – Voice of the Left