October 14, 2020 at 10:41 am
23 Church schools in breach of working conditions of educators – MUT warns schools to stop this or they shall face industrial action
The MUT has analysed all feedback received regarding the Church school sector and it confirmed that there are twenty-three Church schools which are in breach of working conditions of educators. The breach is tied to decisions of these schools to alternate attendance of students, a decision which was never discussed with the MUT and which is leading to extensive pressure on the school community. The decision of these church schools to alternate attendance of students has led to a wave of pressures on educators who are being expected to juggle between:
1) face-to-face teaching to students who are at school;
2) online teaching to students who are at school;
3) recording of lessons to students who are at school;
4) live streaming to students who are at home;
5) recording of lessons to students who are at home;
6) preparation of videos and other multimedia resources to students who are at home.
These six teaching modes, being run interchangeably for several hours, are exceeding the workload of educators, not to mention the mammoth task to carry out preparation for all lessons in all teaching modes. Educators were never employed to use such teaching modes and the MUT is ready to stick to the principle that educators carry out only face-to-face teaching to students who are in schools. The decision to adopt this unmanageable system was not a decision taken by educators or by the MUT, but was a decision taken by respective schools who, without any additional effort, sought the easiest solution by multiplying the workload of educators without consideration.
The MUT is warning schools to address this situation or they will start facing industrial action. To this effect, the union shall be meeting the Church Secretariat today.
