The Malta Union of Teachers will be conducting strikes after a failure from the University of Malta and the government to conclude the collective agreement for Junior College lecturers.
Three years have passed since the collective agreement had expired in December 2018 and the University of Malta as well as the government have not shown a willingness to conclude negotiations for a new agreement to come into force, the union said.
The strikes will happen for two hours on Monday 24th January, and a full day strike on Tuesday 25th.
“It is clear that the University is using the instability of recent years within the Ministry of Education – whereby there was a change of four ministers, as well as the pandemic, as an excuse to further create delays,” it said.
The union accused the University’s management of its apparent lack of esteem towards its employed lecturers at the Junior College, while prioritizing other agreements. “The University has been aware of this situation since last August, when the MUT declared an industrial dispute,” the union said.
Attempts by the new Minister for Education Clifton Grima have been made to unblock the situation, however resulted in failure due to the stubbornness of some, said the union.
The MUT insisted that it will not recede until Junior College’s lecturers are given due recognition through a new collective agreement. If the actions put in place remain insufficient for the union, the MUT is ready to proceed with other timely actions in consultations with its members.
UoM statement
The University of Malta (UM) said that it regrets that the MUT has today ordered its members to strike for two hours at the Junior College over the disagreement on the negotiations of the new collective agreement for lecturers. In addition, the MUT plans on going ahead with a full-day strike tomorrow apart from a series of other directives already in place.
"The MUT is giving the impression that the UM is being intransigent in its dealings when this is a far cry from the truth. Over the last few months, the University has been engaged in discussions with the MUT in a bid to successfully conclude the Collective Agreement. UM strongly believes that it has tabled an attractive financial proposal that is consistent with its pay structures and reflects relativity across the institution. This same principle was adhered to in all previous collective agreements that were successfully negotiated with the MUT for Junior College lecturers."
"This time around, however, the MUT has repeatedly refused to consider the financial offer made by the University and has instead resorted to industrial action leading to lectures being suspended for students."
"While the UM remains committed to reaching an agreement which benefits its lecturing members of staff at the Junior College, it reiterates its obligation to provide an attractive comprehensive package that is fair and transparent and respects its responsibilities as a publicly funded institution."