Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544773
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 MAY 2026 NEWS ĦALEY XUEREB xuereb@mediatoday.com.mt REKS GEN SERVICES LTD – C79588 Registered office at 881, St Joseph high street, Hamrun The director Mr Saviour Azzopardi intends to register for an employment agency, Temporary work agency and/or outsourcing agency license in terms of the DIER Requirements: The activities proposed to be carried out are the following: Recruitment consultancy , Interviewing, selection, and placements of candidates in employment and Recruitment of Persons from abroad to employment in Malta or in an EU member site. MUT wants AI to be included in education curriculum THE Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) insisted that Artificial Intelligence must be included as part of the compulsory education curriculum. They also suggested rethink- ing the use of technology tools in the classroom to limit students' dependency on digital services, especially in the early years of ed- ucation. On Tuesday, the MUT issued a list of proposals sent to political parties ahead of the general elec- tion on 30 May, calling for a num- ber of reforms in the education sector. The MUT said that the educa- tion sector must be governed by a permanent commission which is independent from politics and ensures a long-term vision based on research, knowledge, and ex- pertise. They called on the government to conclude all five agreements currently being negotiated, name- ly the Junior College agreement, the MCAST Managers agree- ments, the Student Support Ser- vices agreement, the Institute for Education agreement, and the Foundation for Educational Ser- vices agreement. They also insisted that the gov- ernment implements in full the sectoral agreements for educators, which would provide substantial salary increases and allowances. The MUT suggested that the negotiations model in the public service sector should be reformed to expedite negotiations and to adopt a more comprehensive model which does not discrimi- nate between educators in differ- ent entities. The union added that educators should be eligible to apply for a second year of paid study leave if undertaking a course at a high- er MQF level than the previous course for which paid leave was granted. The MUT proposed a languages and communication secondary school to be set up along the pa- rameters of the current Nation- al Sports School and the Mal- ta Visual and Performing Arts School. They also insisted that a nation- wide project must be carried out to equip all classrooms with air conditioning. They continued to stress that citizenship education must be central in curricula in compulsory education with a focus on policy and politics to equip students with the tools needed to function in a democratic society. Adding onto this, the MUT pro- posed a national language of in- struction policy which places the Maltese language and culture at the centre of the educational jour- ney for students in pre-compulso- ry and compulsory schooling. The union proposed an invest- ment into early childhood educa- tion to equip educators with the skills, knowledge, and resources to provide the best educational experience to children. The MUT concluded by call- ing on the next government to strengthen the referral structures and services to address social real- ities beyond schools which affect education. EVA BRANNON ebrannon@mediatoday.com.mt Fleet operator as case falters A fleet operator has been ac- quitted of a raft of employment law breaches after a court found that, despite discrepancies be- tween recorded working hours and wages paid, no testimo- ny from affected workers was heard. Atanas Tasev was charged both personally and as director of OHAA Ltd, a courier fleet ser- vice for food delivery platforms such as Bolt and Wolt. He had been charged following an investigation by the Depart- ment for Industrial and Employ- ment Relations (DIER) into al- leged violations between March and June 2024. The charges included failing to grant minimum weekly rest peri- ods, denying double pay for rest- day work, and omitting statutory bonuses and allowances. He was also accused of fail- ing to pay employees the full amount of wages for all hours worked. Digital trail raises concerns Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech heard testimony from DIER officials who presented an analysis comparing platform da- ta from Wolt and Bolt with com- pany-issued payslips. In one example cited in court, a courier logged 50 hours of work on digital records but was paid for only 40. Another courier was being paid less than the national minimum wage. In another case, no weekly al- lowance was paid, and the stat- utory bonus was also not given. The prosecution argued that courier accounts could be matched to individuals through platform IDs and Jobsplus en- gagement records. However, the defence coun- tered that it could not be de- A man charged in connection with an organised crime ring trafficking stolen vehicles has been handed a two-year pris- on sentence suspended for four years. Ahmed Ab'a Khabiza, 37, Lib- ya, was found guilty of stealing vehicles between November and December 2025 at the Virtu Fer- ries terminal in Marsa. The case ties back to December 2025, when he was charged after customs officials flagged irreg- ularities in a vehicle he brought into Malta. Investigators had then linked him to a wider net- work trafficking high-value sto- len vehicles between Europe and North Africa, with cars import- ed using falsified documentation before being shipped onwards. Police had also testified that Khabiza had made repeated trips to Malta transporting ve- hicles later confirmed to have been stolen from countries in- cluding Italy and Spain.In the latest proceedings, the court heard that the offences involved three vehicles, a Lexus, an MG and a Toyota Land Cruiser. Khabiza admitted to the charge in April, with the court warning him of the consequences before accepting his plea. Taking into account the ad- mission and the parties' agree- ment that a custodial sentence was not appropriate, the court sentenced him to two years' im- Man linked to stolen ring gets suspended JULIA DOWLING jdowling@mediatoday.com.mt ELECTION 2026