The Union of Professional Educators – Voice of the Workers (UPE) has claimed that the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and the Ministry for Education and Employment are currently conducting ad hoc agreements behind closed doors without consulting its members, going against all procedures. 

This comes following the two-day strike which was called late on Wednesday, one night before state school students and some others at independent and Church schools were meant to return to school. All students will be heading back to school on Monday as the strike was called off after the two days. 

In a statement, the UPE said that from the way MUT handled certain agreeements and situations, “it has become evident that MUT’s time representing the educational sector should come to a close.” 

UPE sought to point out the evident lack of knowledge that the MUT has with regards to industrial law. 

The union noted that the MUT had the right to formally notify the Permanent Secretary of any unresolved matter. The Permanent Secretary would then be obliged to chair a meeting between both parties within five (5) days.  If agreement is not reached either party may refer the dispute/issue to the established conciliation mechanism after all attempts for discussions of negotiations have failed with the Permanent Secretary concerned. 

The union added that a conciliatory board should have been assembled on such a sensitive matter involving the health and safety of educators, students and their families. 

“It is clear that shortcuts have been taken despite the ongoing spike resulting from the lack of adequate restrictions taken during the festive season. It is undeniable, at this point in time, that the analysis and figures presented by the experts at the meeting in Castille, stating that Covid numbers are on the decline are flawed,” the union said. 

UPE claimed that it has become apparent that the MUT has allowed government officials to circumvent established reconciliatory procedures, thus clearly proving that they are not sufficiently well-versed in industrial law procedures. 

In addition and in a separate statement, the union highlighted that the Church and private schools have been stripped of their autonomy in operation following the MUT “backdoor deal”. 

Back in March 2020, when schools closed their doors to their educators and students, online practice was successfully mastered by Church and Private school educators. These institutions invested on academic platforms as well as a more solid infrastructure in order to have the possibility of switching to remote learning whenever the need arises, the UPE said. 

In the last two days this was successful, as they shifted to a full online time table as a preventive measure. 

The union said that following the agreement reached on Friday, such practices can no longer be adopted thus putting educators and students at uneccesary risk of contagion. 

UPE also highlighted the positive feedback from parents of children in Church and private schools for the work and service they provided. 

“Despite this they were still unfairly placed on the same footing as state schools by the Ministry and the general public during the two-day strike,” the union said. 

It added that many educators within these sectors reached out to the UPE to vent their frustration on the matter as Church and private schools had been well-prepared from way back at the start of the pandemic for such a situation, while state schools showed no similar inclination to invest at the same level.

MUT denies imposing on Church and independent schools, condemns ‘scaremongering and deceitful tactics’

The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) hit back at claims by another teacher’s union – the UPE – on claims that it had imposed on Church and independent schools in its agreement to stop strike action.

In a statement published after the UPE itself published two statements, the MUT denied the claim that the situation affected the autonomy of Church and independent schools, noting that the same representatives of the two sectors participated throughout all discussions.

“They surely would have not accepted to lose their respective autonomy at any point during the discussions”, they said.

The MUT also denied that the situation shall affect online teaching, or the models adopted by respective church and independent schools, and said that this shall be confirmed when schools reopen with the same models adopted before the holiday periods.

The MUT further denied any claims of wrongdoings with respect to procedures.

“The MUT has followed all procedures as applicable by the respective legislation. There was no legal contestation by the government or any employer about the procedures followed. The MUT reminds instead that members of a minority union could only strike according to legislation since the strike was ordered by the recognised union in the sector, which is the MUT”, they said.

The MUT said it is duty bound to cover all educators who follow industrial actions as it did during the past days.

“Lastly, the MUT is still closely monitoring the situation with authorities and shall continue to support educators and schools to overcome the difficulties of the pandemic and shall take all the actions required.”