The Bermuda Union of Teachers voted yesterday to abandon a work to rule for the start of the new school term.

The breakthrough came after a significant development in negotiations over terms and conditions with the education department.

The union said it had made headway on scale posts, one of three sticking points that were raised by teachers before the summer vacation.

Scale posts are speciality subjects some teachers deliver in addition to their normal teaching duties. The union was able to negotiate with the Commissioner of Education and education department personnel to reach an agreement.

As part of the agreement, there will be reduced responsibilities for teachers holding scale posts under a new job description.

The other two issues — the workload of deputy principals at the primary level, and a change in the foreword to the collective bargaining agreement to include “modern and relevant” learning — are expected to be settled in the next few weeks.