The Union of Professional Educators (UPE) this morning received a warrant of prohibitory injunction from the Civil Courts of Malta issued by the Permanent Secretary of Education, Dr Francis Fabri. 

The warrant of prohibitory injunction aims to stop the union’s operations in giving directives to its members. The Permanent Secretary, acting on behalf of the government, is attempting to interfere with the union’s efforts to safeguard educators’ interests and rights at their place of work after the Ministry’s latest deployment fiasco. 

The UPE has refrained from issuing any directives to date and the Ministry’s motives for their legal posturing involving the UPE are not entirely clear at this point. One could speculate that the Education Minister and the Permanent Secretary do not want to target the MUT on its own, and are allegedly trying to keep close ties in order not to ‘irritate’ them as was stated by Dr Fabri himself in an earlier ruling by the Ombudsman for Education.

The Union cannot but question this administration’s socialist credentials. Is the Partit Laburista‘s core beliefs still in line with the principles of the democratic socialist movement, that is, of defending and representing workers’ rights?

It goes without saying that the UPE intends to fight the Ministry’s attempted injustice. We are here to ensure that trade union rights are protected and upheld in our democratic society where maintaining the rule of law must always be a fundamental guiding principle. 

In the meantime, the UPE has filed a legal reply to the Mandate of Inhibition. An urgent court sitting is scheduled for tomorrow Tuesday 28 September. The UPE is being represented by the legal team of Dr Franco Debono & Associates.