The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) has taken Mario Mallia’s sacking as the headmaster of St Albert the Great College to the industrial tribunal, as it filed an unfair dismissal case on Monday morning.

This news was announced during a press conference in front of the law courts where both the president of the MUT Marco Bonnici and Mario Mallia spoke.

News of Mallia's termination brought support for the dismissed headmaster, who had told The Malta Independent that instead of understanding the inclusivity initiatives undertaken by the administration at the St Albert the Great College, an individual from the Curia filed a complaint about them which led to the school board putting them to a stop.

However, The St Albert the Great College board and rector had categorically denied the "unfounded allegations that have been circulating publicly, and were also published by certain media outlets, regarding the termination of employment of Mario Mallia due to disagreement on policies of inclusion."

The MUT on Monday declared that it is offering all its support to Mario Mallia, as well as the school’s staff. Mallia's sacking has been a subject of controversy. The case is being represented by the MUT’s lawyers, Keith Borg and Rebecca Mercieca.

MUT said it has already responded to legal letters issued by the rector of the school. Moreover, it also hosted a peaceful protest last week, and tomorrow it is coordinating a meeting between the staff and the Archbishop.

Mario Mallia, through lawyers Keith Borg and Rebecca Mercieca, filed a declaration and is requesting that the tribunal declare his termination as an unfair dismissal. He is also asking the tribunal to reinstate him as the Headmaster of St. Albert the Great School.

Mallia's team asked that the Tribunal order the school to pay Mallia an adequate compensation based on the circumstances.

In his declaration, he said that he was employed on a full-time basis with an indefinite contract in 2006 for the role of Headmaster. However, he had been working as a Deputy Head at the same school beforehand. It read that he was a hard worker who was always present with students, parents and staff.

It reads that Fr Aaron Zahra had sent a registered letter in the name of the college board to Mallia whilst he was at home recovering from Covid-19, revealing a 'final warning' for Mallia, where he was given 7 days to respond. Mallia responded to this letter dated 8 July 2022 where he gave a detailed explanation and defended himself against the accusations of the rector.

Mallia made it clear that he was determined to find a way to work with the board and the rector to avoid any issues in the future, the document read.

On 25 July 2022, Mallia received a letter in the name of the board, which highlighted that he is being terminated from his position as headmaster, on the basis of "Usurpation of and/or use of employer's Property without obtaining prior consent, with aggravating circumstances" and "insubordination with aggravating circumstances."

The statement published by the board on 27 July 2022, explained the reason behind his termination as being "a result of several managerial and procedural issues that have been pending for a long time, and which unfortunately have not been resolved". They denied that they dismissed Mallia because of the inclusivity policies he implemented.

Mallia's declaration further states that before his dismissal, he had made multiple attempts to meet with the provincial, however, this never took place. He also said that, before his dismissal, there was no invitation to formally meet with the board and the rector, and Mallia never had the opportunity to rightfully defend his position. He was never given the opportunity to practice his right to contest these allegations in an adequate forum, he said. Therefore, he said that the reasons behind his termination are defamatory.