Updated 2.20pm with MUT's reaction

Rivalry and increased militancy between two teaching unions is impacting on the education of children, a lawyer has argued in a judicial protest.

Andre Borg, himself a parent, said in his protest that the behaviour of the Malta Union of Teachers and the Union of Professional Educators had also discredited the teaching profession.

Borg is the sole signatory of the protest but says he has the backing of a number of other parents and teachers who were irked by the actions ordered by the teachers’ unions that delayed the reopening of most schools.

He said that directives issued just hours before the start of the new academic year forced the postponement of the opening of schools and disrupted plans that had been in place for several weeks. 

He held that as a result of the rivalry between the two, both the MUT and the UPE were resorting to industrial action “for their egocentric purposes” and “for a union to appear more militant than the other”. 

“While I firmly believe in open democracy and fundamental freedoms such as freedom of association, I also believe in freedom of expression and that parents, students, educators and other interested persons have every right to question the intentions of the unions. The recent trade union tactics on the part of the MUT and the UPE and the industrial disputes they threaten leave many doubts about their true intentions,” Borg said in his protest. 

Borg said the two unions were showing their militancy to poach members but were causing a great disturbance to students, especially the young ones, disruptions at the place of work and unnecessary stress on all educators who are receiving unjustified threats due to their unions' actions.

He added that their actions gave the wrong impression that teachers did not want to return to their classrooms to teach children. 

He said the unions had not even taken a clear stance on online teaching for those students who are not able to physically attend school. 

Borg said that like many other parents, he felt aggrieved by the unions’ actions because his children and thousands of others, were enthusiastic about returning to their desks. 

He therefore called on the unions to desist from their behaviour which was detrimental to their own members and the educational system and held them responsible for any damages suffered. 

Education Ministry decided to postpone and stagger student intake - MUT

Reacting, the Malta Union of Teachers said that it was the Education Ministry that had decided to postpone the reopening of schools and stagger intake. 

Noting that it had not yet received the protest, MUT said that it had communicated the decision as it was the "recognised union". 

MUT, it added, "communicated separately and collectively with independent schools and has not imposed any decision".

The schools, in turn, "communicated their arrangements with the MUT and the union was satisfied with them. To this effect, the MUT has not issued any direction to members and it has no dispute with any independent school."

It insisted that it had carried out its duties to safeguard the health and safety of educators, students and families through social dialogue with the authorities and employers.