Last updated at 9.59pm with Health Ministry statement assuring vulnerable persons that they need not stay at home.
The UĦM Voice of the Workers has told administrative workers falling under the Ministry of Education to continue working from home because it is not satisfied with arrangements to safeguard their health once they return to their places of work.
The workers had been told to return to work on Friday.
The union said it was not involved in discussions concerning the administrative workers at the university, Mcast, schools and support services at the Ministry of Education.
It said it had been informed that those workplaces were not in line with the protocols issued by the health authorities. Therefore it was not appropriate for the workers to return to work, the union said. They should, instead, continue to work from home.
The UĦM-affiliated Union of Professional Educators, issued similar directives for its members.
Earlier on Thursday the UĦM also ordered vulnerable workers in the civil service to continue working from home.
The Malta Union of Teachers in a separate statement also told all its members not to return to their work places and to continue to work from home since safety precautions are not adequate.
Prime Minister Robert Abela on Monday said everyone will have to go back to work on Friday, including those considered vulnerable and given special concessions. He added that they should be vigilant.
The MUT said in a statement it was not involved in any discussion on the decision for people to return to work and according to its information, workplaces were not equipped in line with the issued protocol, which also had never been discussed with the union.
Apart from that, the union noted, no risk assessment of workplaces was being carried out.
It said it will not allow its members to be exposed to risk in a so-called normality which was not normality at all but a series of restrictions which had to be rigorously implemented.
Vulnerable people need not stay at home - Health Ministry
In a reaction to the UHM's directive to vulnerable persons, the Health Ministry said Friday marks an important milestone.
"The decreasing number of new cases shows that Malta can enter into a new phase of normality following a transition phase with low transmission which in reality is a result of the sacrifices made by our determined and united people."
It said that with legal notices having been repealed, with effect from Friday vulnerable persons need not stay at home.
"Their wellbeing still remains a priority and therefore, while returning to work and other daily activities, vulnerable persons should be guided by three principles which proved to be effective in the past weeks, that is, social distancing, adequate hygiene and use of masks or visors," it said.
"This is the way forward for our country to be up and running."