Educators are fed up with empty promises and deserve to be taken care of and respected, the Green Party said on Wednesday. 

"If you wish the best for education, you need to take care of those who make it work," ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci said.

The party’s statement comes after the Malta Union of Teachers gave the education minister until May 24 to wrap up the negotiations over the new collective agreement for teachers. 

The union and government have been locked in negotiations over a new collective agreement for several months, and last week MUT said the negotiations appeared to be going nowhere. 

The MUT also called out Clifton Grima for lying about wage increases promised to teachers. The union said Grima's talk about teachers getting a €10,000 raise and new teachers starting on a €36,000 salary “are nowhere to be found in government's financial proposals to MUT”.

Addressing a press conference in front of the Maria Regina Qawra Primary School, Gauchi said allegations made by MUT that the government was backtracking on what was already agreed is worrying and has demotivated many educators.

"Educators are fed up with promises and empty words of respect for the crucial work they do for the country," she said.

"The government cannot keep expecting educators to solve the country's problems on the one hand, and at the same time treat educators as push-overs.  Whilst the country boasts of record economic growth, it cannot keep short-changing educators."

Gauci said the party expressed solidarity with all educators, including those in obligatory years and also at MCAST.  

She also raised concerns about the situation at MCAST, where the teacher's union once again restored to industrial action after talks with the government failed. 

"Don't go back on your word.  Remember the promises you made" she said.