Updated 10.30am with MUT position

A teachers’ union has instructed its members to stay at home and teach online if they are classified as vulnerable to COVID-19.

The Union of Professional Educators – Voice of the Workers said that its directive to members would remain in place until it could “put its mind at rest” that members were not being recklessly exposed to the virus.

Its hard-line position contrasts with that of another teaching union, the Malta Union of Teachers, which has agreed with the government to assess educators on a case-by-case basis. 

Students are due to return to classrooms at the end of the month, in line with COVID-19 guidelines issued by authorities on September 2. 

Those guidelines set rules for social distancing, mask-wearing and classroom sizes, and state that schools will reopen.

While the guidelines acknowledged that vulnerable students may need alternative arrangements, to be determined on a case-by-case basis, they made no reference to teachers deemed vulnerable.

According to official guidance, anyone who is pregnant, aged 65 or more or suffering from one of a defined list of health conditions is considered to be vulnerable for COVID-19 purposes.

UPE position

In a statement issued on Saturday morning, the UPE said it has formally asked the Education Ministry to undertake a risk assessment for every school as well as a risk assessment for vulnerable educators, ahead of the start of a new scholastic year.

The UPE said that it was concerned by the high number of daily virus cases and the World Health Organization’s warning that COVID-19 would continue to pose a threat until a vaccine is available.

“It thus became clear to the union, that our educators and the general public are being put at high risk of contagion with the re-opening of schools,” the union said.

It said that Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci had confirmed to the union, at a meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister, that reopening schools was “possibly” exposing members “to the possibility of suffering long-term repercussions to their health”.

MUT position

Another teachers' union, the larger MUT, said it was adopting a different approach.

MUT president Marco Bonnici told Times of Malta that it believed that any teacher who does not feel safe in the classroom should apply for an exemption individually and have their case vetted. 

This, he said, would balance the country's needs with those of educators. 

Given that directives prohibiting vulnerable people from leaving their homes were withdrawn months ago, he said, there was no legal basis to argue that vulnerable people should stay home. 

Bonnici said the MUT would be updating its members about this over the next week as it continued to discuss pending issues with the government.