The education ministry is facing at least three major challenges.

The ministry, the University of Malta as well as MCAST are all in negotiations with unions over sectoral or collective agreements and industrial actions in all cases were, or are currently, taking place.

Firstly, there is the issue pertaining to the Malta Union of Teachers’ negotiations over a sectoral agreement regarding teachers in state and church schools. The union had issued directives which had begun taking effect on 13 November, and resulted in a one-day national strike on 27 November. Following that, the union then suspended directives to enable further discussions on solutions to the dispute with the government. In an update on 11 January, the union said: “Negotiations on a new sectoral agreement resumed this week and two meeting were held whilst a series of meetings were scheduled for this month. Discussions are focusing on the conditions of work and financials. The MUT shall be updating members following this round of negotiations.”

The fact that this has not yet been resolved is worrying. One must keep in mind that, last November, the union hadn’t excluded reinstating industrial action should discussions fail.

Educators were promised, and deserve, a better financial package. The government has said that the package it proposed was good, but the union felt this wasn’t enough. Agreement on a package that offers good salaries and conditions, but which must also be sustainable, has to be found. In December, Education Minister Clifton Grima had said that progress had been made, but there was no indication as to when they will be concluded.

In the meantime, there is a trade dispute at MCAST. “The MUT has an ongoing trade dispute with MCAST regarding negotiations of a new collective agreement. The dispute concerns the delays, as negotiations between MUT and MCAST have been going on for two years and there is no conclusion in sight. To this effect lecturing grades at MCAST are following a directive issued by the union last year, whereby they are refraining from publishing marks. The MUT hopes for a solution to this situation so that negotiations are expedited.” Such a delay is completely unacceptable.

But this is not all. The UHM – Voice of the Workers also has an industrial dispute at the University of Malta, and issued a series of directives for administrative, technical, and industrial workers. The situation is affecting students, the KSU said, but added that “we are cognizant of the fact that a collective agreement for university staff was expected to be in place by December 2021. The absence of such an agreement has understandably led to frustration and discontent among the staff, which inevitably trickles down to impact the overall learning experience for students. We urge all stakeholders to consider the long-term implications of this situation on the quality of education provided at our institution. KSU and member organisations are committed to fostering a harmonious and constructive environment, and it is not our intention to generate conflict or assign blame. However, it is concerning to observe that, ultimately, the stakeholders suffering the consequences of decisions made in this collective agreement – decisions in which they have no say – are the students themselves.”

Education Minister Clifton Grima had said that University of Malta representatives will be sitting down with UHM in the coming days, and one hopes agreement can be reached soon.

So the education ministry is facing three major challenges, all of which really do need to be solved as quickly as possible, to avoid any further impact on students.