Meetings between the government and the MUT have not yielded any significant changes, union head Marco Bonnici told The Times Of Malta this week so the strike on Wednesday 8th November is to go ahead as planned.
All MUT members in all church and state schools have been ordered to strike all day on November 8 and those at Mcast and the Institute of Tourism Students to strike for one hour.
One of the MUT’s concerns is the shortage of teachers this year and it blames this on working conditions, which it has said is not encouraging students to follow education courses. In attempt to address the shortage, the government issued a call to all university students, with those interested in part-time work asked to apply for teaching jobs which caused quite an uproar with parents, students and teachers alike. The MUT had insisted it had been flagging the shortage issue for months and nothing had been done to address it in the long-term.
According to Mr Bonnici, the situation seems to be at a standstill despite a number of meetings with the government. Among other things, the teachers’ union is requesting a salary increase and as yet the government has not agreed to this.
“There has been a start but as things stand it doesn’t seem like we will be finding a solution in the coming days,” Mr Bonnici told the Times of Malta a week before the teachers are to go on strike.
