MCAST said today that its latest proposal to MUT would see college lecturers’ salaries exceed those of Junior College lecturers by 2019.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday afternoon, MCAST president Silvio De Bono said the the board believes in total permeability between lecturers at MCAST and other post-secondary institutions. “We are offering more than Junior College, so why are we not sitting round the table and improving lecturer’s conditions?” he asked.
Earlier, the Malta Union of Teachers said it would not be accepting MCAST’s latest offer since the union did not agree that lecturers should be divided in different groups, creating second and third class lectures.
The union said under the college’s new proposals, new lecturers would be paid more than those who have worker at MCAST for a number of years. Asked if this was true, Debono said this would only be the case if salary structure was mirrored exactly to that of Junior College.
“MUT had stated that they wanted MCAST staff conditions to be the same as those at Junior College. However, had we done that, which we did offer as option number one, a considerable number of lectures at MCAST would not have qualified for these higher salaries. This is due to the nature of MCAST and its ethos, which is a vocational institution, and therefore a considerable number of lecturers do not qualify for the same salaries as those who teach at Junior College,” DeBono explained.
The president made it clear that option two was a fairer proposal and “that this is the best collective agreement ever presented to lecturers since MCAST’s inception”.
In option two, MCAST lecturers, irrespective of qualifications, are being offered the same salary as Junior College lecturers with all levels surpassing this by 2019. This option was also rejected by MUT.
Option two sees salary increases: for example in a Senior Lecturer II earning €38,453 by 2019 compared to their current €33,052, which is higher than Junior College’s 2018 salary of €37,624.
Lecturers are currently receiving €27,176; option two proposes an increase to €30,809 by 2019, which is higher compared to Junior College 2018 salary of €30,112.
The proposal also includes increasing he Work Resource Allowance from €450 per annum to €1,000 per annum, and introducing an Industry Allowance of €1,000.
The teaching loads (hours) would go down form 19 hours week to 17 hours for the grades of Senior Lecturers and 18 for Lecturers.
The pay for Additional Duties would increase from €23.29 an hour to €26 an hour.
De Bono said MUT wanted more than the proposal offered but that the proposals MCAST has presented are very close to those that MUT requested.
De Bono said the board was willing to meet MUT at any moment to reach an agreement.
“Our scope is not to cause division but to improve staff conditions and secure student wellbeing in closing this collective agreement.”
He appealed to MUT to return to negotiating table, adding that he had full hope and trust in the leadership of MUT and that an agreement would be reached.