The Federation of English Language Schools of Malta (FELTOM) on Wednesday said that while it did not condone the alleged actions of any English language school not paying teachers, the Union of Professional Educators (UPE) should not give the impression that this was commonplace among all English language schools.
In a statement, FELTOM referred to a statement issued by the UPE on Tuesday, in which the union claimed that English Language Schools were not paying teachers money they were owed while telling them they would not be able to access government financial aid unless they continued to work online.
In its reply on Wednesday, FELTOM urged the union to stop trying to take advantage of this unfortunate situation and refrain from giving the impression that the alleged incident was commonplace amongst all local English language schools.
The union, it said, should stop being sensational and instead of generalising, report isolated incidents to the relevant authorities to verify and investigate.
“If it truly has the industry’s well-being and survival at heart it should do its best to channel its efforts constructively towards ensuring all operators in this sector survive these unprecedented times which are proving difficult for everyone involved.”
It “clearly, openly and unequivocally” stated that it did not condone the alleged actions of any English Language Schools reneging on their obligation to pay teachers wages or in any shape manner or form.
Language schools had certainly come upon hard times, being recognised among some of the hardest-hit businesses by the COVID-19 pandemic and among the first to feel the brunt.
These schools had, by March, already seen a drop in bookings of 20,000 students, a drop which had now increased significantly, FELTOM said.
However, teachers were an integral part of the very fibre of language schools so if work was indeed being carried out wages too, had to be paid out.
FELTOM urged the union to stop trying to take advantage of this unfortunate situation and refrain from giving the impression that the alleged incident was commonplace amongst all local English language schools.
The union, it said, should stop being sensational and instead of generalising, report isolated incidents to the relevant authorities to verify and investigate.
“If it truly has the industry’s well-being and survival at heart it should do its best to channel its efforts constructively towards ensuring all operators in this sector survive these unprecedented times which are proving difficult for everyone involved.”
FELTOM said it had not only continued to communicate with its member school and all their staff, but has also persevered with its lobbying for various measures to mitigate the current situation language workers had currently found themselves in.
A good number of FELTOM’s proposals were indeed taken up by the government, namely wage supplements for all full-time, part-time and part-time casual employees, tax incentives for organisations, bank loan moratoria for both schools and staff and rent payment deferrals for both schools and staff.
“As FELTOM we urge the government to help all struggling schools and process all applications as swiftly as possible. To-date no funding has reached any ELT organisation, since the announcement of the government schemes over two weeks ago,” it said.