The Malta Union of Teachers has requested an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister, saying that it was very concerned that recent negative developments could leave a serious impact on the trade union sector.

It said that last month, at a conciliation meeting, it had concluded an agreement with the administration of the Institute of Tourism Studies, which subsequently had been rejected by the Education, Youth and Employment Ministry.

This was a very serious development, the MUT said. It could have wider repercussions on industrial relations.

But the ministry, in a subsequent statement, denied that it had rejected any agreement because no agreement had actually been reached.

The union also expressed concern at the situation of supply teachers, supply kindergarten assistants and supply learning support assistants, who had not been assimilated on an indefinite contract, as laid down by the EU directive on indefinite employment.

It added, it would also be raising the position of all teaching grades in light of the agreement which had been concluded in the health sector.

In its statement the ministry said the union has now directed academic staff at the ITS not to submit any examination papers for the first semester examinations, to refrain from performing any extra hours, and to continue to abide by the work, to rule it had issued in connection with talks on a revised collective agreement.

The ministry said an agreement had been reached on all clauses in the agreement, except one, 10a, which provided that full time academic staff were required “to devote an average of up to 24 hours per week of contact hours, which hours shall comprise tutorials, sick cover and invigilation during term time to students. Contact hours shall be distributed equitably among all lecturing staff depending on the subject/area taught”.

The MUT now wanted to cut the number of contact hours by two hours per week from 24 to 22, and the management was against this. The ITS, it said, had agreed to attend a conciliation session with the MUT and the ministry was kept informed about the developments of this meeting.

It did not result that “MUT officials and ITS agreed on all the points under discussion” as claimed by the MUT in its press statement, the ministry said. It was not true that the ministry rejected the agreement reached, as no agreement was actually reached. ITS, a government educational institution, agreed to attend a conciliation meeting hoping that better judgment would prevail. The MUT knew that on such issues educational institutions were obliged to follow ministry policy and guidelines, and to consult before coming to any definite agreement. Doing otherwise was contrary to the good governance of educational institutions.

The ministry said it believed that reducing teaching or contact time with students, beyond what was already established in collective agreements, was an important matter of principle. The ministry could only consider negotiating such an issue if an agreement could be reached on the justification of the union’s claim in the context of the interests of the students.