In a stunning act of hypocrisy, the Ministry for Education, under Minister Clifton Grima, has launched a legal attack on the rights of educators, directly contradicting the Prime Minister’s public assurances just this weekend.
On Friday 3rd October, the Ministry, through its Permanent Secretary, filed a Warrant of Prohibitory Injunction against the Union of Professional Educators (UPE). The move seeks to ban two crucial directives that protect Learning Support Educators (LSEs), which state:
- “LSE members of the UPE working in year 11… are to remain at the school they were initially assigned to… Since they will not have any students, they are to provide replacements within their school only.”
- “LSE members of the UPE are directed not to replace sick LSEs or LSE’s on Special Leave… The word ‘replace’ will also be applicable to cases in which LSE’s are requested to ‘support’ students who on the day do not have the required support.”
The Ministry’s move aims to force LSEs into roles that leave vulnerable students without necessary support, all under the guise of administrative efficiency.
This aggressive legal action stands in stark contradiction to the Prime Minister’s own words over the weekend, where he passionately defended civil servants and their rights. It appears the Prime Minister wears a mask of solidarity in public, while his government’s institutions do the exact opposite behind the scenes.
This incident is not an isolated one, but rather a symptom of deeper chaos within Minister Grima’s administration. Recent reports reveal a ministry where backroom maneuvering trumps meritocracy. Permanent Secretary Matthew Vella allegedly orchestrated a campaign to sideline a highly qualified director, splitting a Directorate in two to create a role for someone else.
The picture is clear: an administration that sidelines its own top experts and attacks the rights of frontline educators. The Ministry’s injunction is a blatant attempt to dismantle workers’ rights and silence their union, revealing a government that says one thing to the people and does another in the courts—proving that its promises are nothing but a hollow performance.
A court hearing is scheduled for Friday, October 10th. The directives in question have been provisionally suspended until the court issues its ruling later this week.
