Teachers in Malta are stuck with “empty promises” and “miserable conditions of work”, the Union of Professional Educators said today.

Marking World Educators’ Day, Graham Sansone, head of the UPE, said he wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Maltese educators whilst reviewing the year in retrospect.

“The UPE lauds Maltese educators’ tenacity and utmost dedication to their vocation despite their low salaries and primitive working conditions,” he said.

“Maltese educators deserve all praise for their commitment to education. The UPE knows first-hand that local educators always go the extra mile to assist their students. Unfortunately, the work of educators does not go tangibly rewarded and they have remained stuck with empty promises, a poor collective agreement and restrictions to their fundamental rights.”

“Apart from miserable conditions of work, educators in Malta also have to contend with with an anti-democratic system which locks them in contrived industrial groupings against their will so as to circumvent them from being represented by the union of their choice,” he continued.

“During the current year, the vast majority of LSEs joined the UPE but were denied the right to be represented by it.”

Sansone listed a number of teachers have had to deal with, from within the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations to Industrial Tribunals.

“Freedom of association of workers has been subverted and turned on its head, allowing employers to forge industrial groupings to eschew workers of this fundamental right,” he continued. “The UPE had no alternative but to file Constitutional proceedings in order to seek an effective remedy for its members who are being deprived of representation by the union of their choice.”

The UPE reminded the public that “workers’ rights in Malta are under a serious threat and educators are no exception. Health and Safety issues in schools and educational estabishments are not given the attention they deserve. Worse still, educators resorting to union protection regarding such concerns may find themselves subject to disciplinary proceedings.”