The Education Ministry on Thursday said that it has agreed to several proposals by the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and reiterated its call for the withdrawal of industrial directives.

The ministry released a statement referring to ongoing discussions with the MUT regarding a collective agreement for the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) lecturers, and said that it must be clarified that government has repeatedly urged the MUT to suspend industrial actions affecting the well-being and progress of MCAST students during every meeting held over the past eight weeks.

"These actions have created a situation where students, at a critical juncture in their educational journey, are being deprived of the quality education traditionally offered by this institution," it said.

Throughout the discussions, and where feasible, government has accepted several MUT requests, even shouldering additional responsibilities to meet the union's demands.

"It should also be clarified that claims suggesting the government's refusal to discuss career progression structures and related criteria with the MUT are untrue," the statement said.

It continued that the government's proposals on progression reflect realities and conditions already present in other educational institutions.

"The government cannot accept proposals that would limit or diminish the educational support received by students. Demonstrating its goodwill, the government has already presented an improved financial package for educators and all college employees covered by this collective agreement," the statement said.

During these eight weeks of discussions, the administration has agreed to several MUT proposals, including a reduction in the length of each academic semester, a decrease in the number of units and different subjects taught by lecturers; a reduction in class sizes at certain levels, greater flexibility in the time and hours lecturers are required to be present on campus, and ending lessons at 15:30 instead of 16:30.

The statement said that once agreement was reached on these proposals, the administration requested, as a gesture of goodwill and in line with standard practice across all public sector unions, that the MUT suspend directives negatively impacting the students' educational journey.

"In similar situations, this request is routinely made by the administration to any union engaged in discussions," it said.

The statement said that only in response to certain MUT demands did the administration declare that such practices are unacceptable, whether at MCAST or in any other public sector institution or entity.

It said that for the sake of students' educational trajectories and fairness towards other unions and workers, these demands could not be accommodated.

Government said that the ministry remains committed to delivering services to the nation while improving working conditions for all employees. However, it must also ensure sustainability is respected, it said.

Under these circumstances, government said it remains open to dialogue, as it always has been.

It urged the MUT to return to the negotiating table with goodwill and realistic expectations.

The MUT was once again asked to withdraw industrial actions directly affecting students' educational paths to allow discussions to proceed immediately.

In a reply to the Ministry’s statement, the MUT said that the ministry had failed to state that several proposals which were refused by the Government during the last meeting have been previously agreed upon in the presence of MUT Officials, delegates and the same Ministry.

“The inconsistency of these negotiations and the far too many different negotiators from the Ministry’s side led to this situation,” the MUT said.

The MUT said that negotiations had to start afresh each time an official was fired by the Ministry or a new one appointed. It is worth mentioning that the process saw the Education Ministry firing the MCAST Principal and CEO and firing also the MCAST President during negotiations.

“The lead negotiators of the Government were changed throughout the process and there were at least five different officials who led negotiations during the three-year period. By changing negotiators, failing to take decisions and changing positions, the Education Ministry delayed negotiations by almost three years. Their inconsistency resulted in the current situation,” the MUT said.

The MUT noted that the ministry had also failed to mention that MUT suspended the directives twice to enable negotiations to proceed. However contrary to the Ministry’s promises, these actions did not lead to the conclusion of the agreement, it said.

“It is easy for the Education Ministry to use arguments about the impact on students. Nothing was ever mentioned by the same Ministry about the lecturing grades and all other grades impacted by their failures and who have been waiting for three years to have a renewed agreement,” the MUT added.

The MUT reiterated that it is still open to negotiations towards a successful conclusion of the agreement, “if this is also what is being sought by the Education Ministry.”