Teachers from government schools will strike on Thursday, after talks with government failed to break the impasse with the teachers’ union.
Education Minister Dolores Cristina and the leadership of the Malta Union of Teachers held an informal meeting Monday, but the strike ordered in government schools will still go ahead.
The union said that teachers from all grades have been directed to follow the industrial action, and exhorted them to keep in mind the difficulties they are facing due to their working conditions.
“These teachers are being taken for granted. Not only have they not been granted what we’ve been fighting for, but they have suffered many injustices. The union cannot accept anymore delays on solving these problems.”
The union’s federation Forum expressed its solidarity with the MUT said it was supporting the union in all its industrial actions.
The education ministry said Dolores Cristina reiterated her commitment to discuss the MUT request for an ‘addendum’ to the 2007 reform agreement, once current talks on Supply Teachers, Supply Kindergarten Assistants and Supply Learning Support Assistants were concluded.
The ministry also said that it was honouring what was agreed in the 2007 agreement and the teachers had been paid all the agreed allowances, and that over 75% of the agreement had been implemented and another 12% percent would implemented in the coming weeks.
The ministry again said it would only be students to suffer from the strike.
The MUT has called off the strike in Church Schools after reaching an agreement with the Church authorities and settling pending issues on the renewal of a collective agreement.
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