Lecturers at the Institute of Tourism Studies have been instructed not to submit exam papers until the issue regarding the Malta Union of Teachers collective agreement has been resolved, MUT president John Bencini confirmed yesterday.

Contacted by The Malta Independent, Mr Bencini said he was not aware whether or not exams had been cancelled yet, or even postponed, but he confirmed that one of the union’s directives to MUT employees was explicitly not to submit exam papers.

Neither the ITS management, nor the Education Ministry replied to this newspaper’s question as to whether the exams had actually been cancelled.

The long-drawn-out matter regarding ITS employees resurfaced on 10 January, when MUT organised a press conference, during which Mr Bencini said that the Education Ministry had “vetoed” an agreement reached during a conciliation meeting with the ITS management.

During the meeting, mediated by Noel Vella, director of industrial and employment relations, Mr Bencini said the two parties agreed to five points that would be included in the collective agreement.

Displaying an email from Mr Vella that outlined the conclusions of the conciliation meeting, Mr Bencini said the agreement was “vetoed” by the Education Ministry, clearly showing that both the director of industrial and employment relations and the ITS administration are “like puppets on a string”.

Among the points agreed upon was a clause stating that normal contact working hours of staff be reduced from 24 to 22 hours every week.

The MUT president complained that even though the union had informed the ITS administration that it had accepted the agreement, the Education Ministry had issued a statement saying that it was not true that the ITS management had reached an agreement with the MUT.

The statement, which was issued in reaction to another one issued by the MUT, also stated that “the ministry believes that reducing teaching or contact time with students beyond what is already established in collective agreements, is an important matter of principle”.

In reaction to the MUT’s press conference, Education Minister Louis Galea had said that the ministry can only consider negotiating such an issue if an agreement can be reached on the justification of the union’s claim in the context of the interests of the students.

As for the MUT’s complaint that the ministry had not accepted the conclusions of the conciliation meeting as a definite agreement with ITS, Minister Galea said the MUT is well aware that on such issues educational institutions are obliged to follow ministry policy and guidelines, and have to consult before coming to any definite agreement.

When contacted yesterday, the MUT president said teachers’ average number of direct contact hours in similar institutions in the EU was 18, and the maximum 19.5. Some employees at ITS, particularly those working in the kitchen, were often asked to work up to four extra hours every week, said Mr Bencini.

He said there has been no end whatsoever to the stalemate regarding ITS employees, even following a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi last week. Meanwhile, ITS employees who are members of the MUT have been instructed not to submit any exam papers.

They are also working to rule, and are not working over-time.