An agreement between government and teachers earlier this month bringing strike action to an end was an “insult to people’s intelligence”, the Union of Professional Educators - Voice of the Workers said on Friday.

The Malta Union of Teachers had ordered teachers to strike on January 7 and 8, but the action was then called off when an agreement was reached with the government on January 8 with teachers returning to school on January 11.

The action had been triggered by a sudden spike in the number of new COVID-19 cases following the Christmas holidays after the government refused the MUT’s call for lessons to shift temporarily online.

In its statement on Friday, the UPE, a rival teacher’s union which had supported the strike action, said that its request to see the agreement was only answered on Wednesday when the Education Ministry sent it a copy of the press release which had been published on January 8.

This, it said, was just a collection of points delineating a statement of intent, with no indication of any strategic plan in place for implementation, and no evidence of commitment through signatures.

It accused the government and the MUT of once again failing educators by giving them the illusion that their interests, well-being, and standing in society had been prioritised, respected and taken into account.