February 7, 2018 at 3:11 pm
Teaching grades are not ‘call centre’ operators
The Union is informed that the Directorate for School Support Services (DSSS) is initiating a new service, a ‘call centre’, to be manned by guidance teachers at the DSSS. This will include an online application and a telephone line where the general public may ask questions and teachers are expected to reply.
In view of this, the MUT contacted the said Directorate, which falls under the Directorate for Educational Services (DES), as the Union is strongly objecting that teachers operate this service which is clearly beyond their duties. The Union is also informed that besides a day service, this shall also run outside school hours and teaching grades will be requested to run the service twice weekly until 9pm. The Union stated that teaching grades are not call centre attendants and by no stretch of the imagination may the DES remotely relate the duties of teaching grades to the proposed call centre service. Apart from this, similar services are already provided by Appoġġ through kellimni.com and other similar services.
The Union will be looking into this issue in more detail and if need be issue directives for affected members accordingly.
