David Rossi, one of three former MUT Council members involved in setting up a new union for educators, told The Malta Independent that the aim is for the new entity to have a more de-centralised approach.
A group of three educators recently resigned from the Malta Union of Teachers, and announced they will be forming a new union called the Union of Professional Educators (UPE) – Voice of the Workers. The three educators are Rita Catania, David Rossi and George Debono.
Speaking with The Malta Independent, David Rossi said that his aim is for the union to have a more de-centralised entity within the organisation to facilitate the passage of a new breed of trade unionists. “We have been influential in creating this union, but during the first General Meeting (which he says will likely be held in February), the election of the committee will be held. While we have been involved in the setting up of this union from day one, we would like to see new blood coming into the body of trade unionism in Malta. There are a number of very valid persons I would like to see contribute towards this possibility.”
“We are used to hierarchies. In schools for example, there are different levels of authority. When it comes to trade unions, there is a photocopy of this, with the council, the President etc. This suggests to people that these know it all. I am not saying that this is how it works at the MUT, I’m saying it seems that way to people.”
He mentioned that people are concerned with micro-affairs. Thinking about the main organisation he said: “Imagine that you are representing ITS or other education fora, all should have their own committees, representatives on the council, discuss and approve their own policy, and negotiate with the help of the council.” This, he said, creates a decentralised structure.
“This would be compatible with what is happening in education. There are all these institutes, how can you really deal with trade union affairs from a centralised body?”
He said that there was some criticism regarding the possibility that the new union could divide the workforce. “We never had this in mind. We want to create a modern union independent from all other unions. While we are under the UHM’s shadow to provide us with services, we are an independent and autonomous trade union to cater for educators from all grades.”
He noted that after the sectoral agreement negotiated by MUT with government, there was an uproar among members, “and this seems to suggest members felt they were not consulted. I am not saying there wasn’t any consultation, but how do you explain this uproar? They felt there should have been more transparency which is related to their day-to-day activities. This raises public interest concerns, as if families send their children to be directed by education members who are demotivated, that is a concern for parents. We felt the need to setup this entity in order to promote certain ideas.”
By this, he meant “more trust, more ethical behaviour from trade unionists, a collective approach to leadership and more integrity. I am not saying there is a lack of this on the other side, but I am saying what I would like to see more emphasis on. Values that communicate peace of mind too, when dealing with other stakeholders.”
When it comes to negotiating agreements, he said he would not just want to have a team made up of trade unionists, but also people coming from the industry, as this would result in having a fresh pair of eyes to look at things.
He also spoke of more involvement of stakeholders and members.
He said that he would have liked to have been instrumental in influencing MUT to adopt his ideas, “however throughout my days at MUT I consider it to be rather centralised. Not due to the people there, but due to past dependency, where certain structures are a legacy.”
Rossi, Catania and Debono recently said they learned about aspects of the new agreement signed with the government from the media.
They argue that the complete printed version of the agreement was never presented to the MUT Council, and that the agreement presented to delegates was missing six pages.
Reacting yesterday, MUT President Marco Bonnici said that the six pages not presented dealt with financials, as government kept on insisting that they not be published.
Turning to the new teachers' union, Bonnici said that there has been movement since August, and said that a number of these members were involved. He said that the interest of these members came out clearly today, and that it was personal interest not in the interest of MUT.
He said he does not have any information of any other members switching over to the new union. He said that these three members had been making contact with other unions for months.
He said that the reason for their resignation is clear, "that they were working in parallel for other interests, and that they stayed in the council to put spokes in the wheel."
Asked to confirm Bonnici’s last statement, Rossi said: “well I can confirm that this is his point of view. I resigned on a particular date, after particular events, seeing all those comments which really made me think that a spark is needed to get things moving. That is when I decided to resign. There was no premeditated sort of reasoning on my part for that. I began realising that I couldn’t change things there, and I felt helpless.”
Told that Bonnici said the three stayed on in MUT for months to put spokes in the wheels, he said “everyone is entitled to their opinion, say what you will. I will not get involved in such petty arguments.”
Asked how the new union intends to compete with the MUT, he said “We are not interested in taking members out of MUT. If they would like to join, then let them. I am not interested in destroying the MUT, I am not there as a destructive force and I do not want to compete just for the sake of competition. I want to introduce innovation. If I felt helpless to do so in a particular institution, the end result was - why not set up a new union which would be run by new blood? I am not interested in running this entity. I want it to be run by energetic young people.”