Union Haddiema Maqghudin (UHM) today filed a counter protest against a judicial protest filed earlier by The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) against the Ministry of Education and Employment, UHM, the Foundation for Educational Services (FES) and the Public Administrative Collective Bargaining (PACBU).
In a judicial protest filed earlier in the month, the teachers' union claimed that the foundation is passing personal information of newly appointed child carers to recruit new members. It argued that it should have been involved in the negotiations between the government and the UHM regarding the conditions of employment of child carers who work in childcare centres run by FES.
In its counter protest, UHM said that given the case is related to recognition of one union over another, such a case needs to be determined by the industrial tribunal, and is not within the competence and jurisdiction of the civil court.
Secondly, it argued that child carers employed at the child care centres in question are bound by a collective agreement negotiated by UHM, as are other FES employees, including coordinators and administrators, and not just child carers. Therefore, unless child carers sign a separate bargaining unit, MUT can't put forward such a complaint.
UHM argued that it represent the majority of FES employees therefore continues to hold sole recognition, unless a verification process is carried out.
The counter-protest was signed by Dr Ian Spiteri Bailey.