The Malta Union of Teachers said that the €10,000 increase mentioned by Education Minister Clifton Grima is nowhere to be found in the government’s proposals for a new collective agreement.
The union was reacting to a report on TVM which quotes Grima as saying that a new educator will have a starting salary of €36,000, which is €10,000 more than at present.
In a statement on Saturday, the MUT said that the €10,000 increases and a salary of €36,000 to new teachers mentioned by the Education Minister are nowhere to be found in government's financial proposals to MUT.
The MUT has just published (www.mut.org.mt) extracts from the latest proposal of the government to MUT which clearly shows that the government never proposed increases of €10,000 or a salary of €36,000 to new teachers.
The MUT also published the extracts from the government proposal referring to an increase in the teaching load, the lost parity between grades currently at par and the salary arrears for 2024, leaving out 2023.
It is evident that rather than finding solutions to conclude the sectoral agreement, the government is trying to save face against all odds by attempting to discredit MUT.
MUT and its members shall not be intimidated and have experienced similar tactics in the past. The Union shall keep on fighting for the factual recognition of the work of educators, the union said.
On Friday, the union registered a trade dispute as the talks with the government on a new collective agreement reached a deadlock.
In reply on Facebook, the minister confirmed that the government is proposing that a new teacher will start with a salary of €36,000, which is only one of the increases educators will get without seeing an increase in the load of work or additional qualifications.
He urged the MUT to be factual in its communication with its members, adding that the union is not making any reference to the last two meetings.
If the MUT will continue to be selective in what it reveals, and so give an incomplete picture, then the government will have no option but to publish the proposals, Grima said.