The Malta Union of Teachers has declared an industrial dispute at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, MCAST, over stalled talks for a collective agreement. The union accused the MCAST management of being intransigent and said that after months of talks, the management had not considered anything the union had proposed, nor had it considered the union’s latest submissions regarding important points.

The management had not paid attention to anything the union suggested the MUT added, and it had not even presented a salary schedule with the latest draft. It said it would be calling academic staff members to a meeting.

In a counter-statement, MCAST said it wanted to build on the first collective agreement to improve the overall working conditions of its staff.

It requested that the MUT return to the negotiating table in the best interest of its members. “An agreement may be reached through negotiations, not industrial action,” MCAST said.