The union of professional educators will be launching an industrial dispute over the publication of guidelines for the safe reopening of schools, noting that there are discrepancies between the document published and what could be achieved practically for a classroom to function. 

In a press conference on Thursday at the Catholic Institute in Floriana, UPE executive head Graham Sansone said the guidelines are ignorant of the realities of a working classroom and raised concerns on how vulnerable educators would be safeguarded in this environment. 

“UPE was not privy to the guidelines before they were published and at no point has the union agreed to the reopening of schools for vulnerable educators or children or with guidelines that could put members of these communities at risk,” Sansone said. 

“UPE will take a stance in strong opposition to that of the state to safeguard these people at all costs.”

The press conference follows another by the government on Wednesday, during which guidelines for how schools will operate when they reopen later this month were announced.

With no options for remote working, vulnerable educators, particularly learning support assistants - who generally need to be in close proximity to their students, are given no option to continue to work remotely while safeguarding their health, UPE argues. 

Additionally, as classrooms are expected to function as "bubbles" it would not be possible to find a replacement LSE if a student’s regular educator is indisposed, thus excluding the student and forcing them to be sent home, Sansone said. 

“Had the government not dragged its feet over the summer and implemented a remote learning system that functions correctly, vulnerable educators could continue to do their work to a professional standard from home, as would vulnerable students continue to have access to their education without compromising their health,” Sansone said. 

He noted that COVID-19 outbreaks would be inevitable in schools, and that personal protective equipment would not be enough to protect students and teachers without adequate social distancing measures. 

“Where possible, a social distance of 1.5 meters is to be kept throughout schools, which is already less than the two meters recommended in virtually every other environment,” Sansone said. 

“It is virtually impossible for schools to implement this uniformly, the space is simply not there, so much so that’s in some instances we have resorted to teaching in containers due to the lack of adequate classrooms.”

“The government might as well remove restrictions on bars and restaurants and allow mass events, because with schools ranging anywhere from 500 to 1,000 students we are talking about a situation practically on the same scale.”

The union is also concerned how some of the proposed measures will impact working conditions for educators and how free school transportation for children will continue to be feasible. 

“The government's efforts on the free school transport scheme will all but unravel. To maintain social distancing, at least 50% of the available seating on every trip will have to be reduced, therefore, we will need to find an increase of 50% in transportation services, if indeed that number of vehicles are actually available on the island,” Sansone said.

“Drivers are also expected to supervise and make sure children continue to wear their masks throughout the trip as well as completely sanitise the vehicle in between trips. Given the limited time period during a school run, this is hardly feasible.”

The union also noted that having children from different areas and different years mixing on school vans would invalidate efforts to keep children in their respective "bubbles".

From feedback from parents, Sansone indicated that many were considering pulling their children out of the scheme and resume driving them to school, once again exacerbating the traffic problem roads face during the semester. 

Some students arrived to school as early as an hour-and-a-half before the start of classes, and the number of supervisors would have to increase drastically to make sure that children kept their masks on and maintained social distancing during this time. 

“UPE will do everything in its power to prevent the abuse of vulnerable educators and students as well as preserve adequate working conditions and safeguard the safety of everyone,” Sansone said.

“We have four weeks to get this right, we urge the government not to drag its feet in having a serious discussion and resolving these issues.”