Discussions between the government and the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) over a new collective agreement for MCAST lecturers have progressed, and the union is hoping that the issue will be resolved by the end of this month.

The union and the government have long been at loggerheads over the collective agreement. The last agreement expired around three years ago, and the union instituted a number of directives over the length of time negotiations were taking.

A number of protests by staff, as well as by students, have also taken place. At the end of last year there were back and forth arguments being made between the union and the government, and negotiations had stalled.

Marco Bonnici, president of the union, told The Malta Independent on Sunday in an interview that the union "always said that we want communication with the government to continue as at the end of the day we need to find a solution".

The union recently held a number of meetings directly with Education Minister Clifton Grima, which began prior to Christmas, Bonnici said. "Our aim, and the minister's aim, is to solve the differences between us, and I think that these meetings will lead to, in the near future, having a new agreement for MCAST. Similarly, we will then have a new agreement for ITS, which moves very much in parallel."

MCAST, according to its academic calendar, will enter a marking and assessment period at the end of this month. Asked whether there will be agreement before that date, the union chief said that his and the ministry's wish is to have a form of agreement between them before the end of January. He said that the union is waiting to see what was discussed between it and the government written into text, "as at the end of the day an agreement is text that is agreed upon between both parties".

"But my hope, and that of the ministry, is to try and solve this issue before the end of January."

Asked whether there are any sticking points left, Bonnici said that the last thing that remains is the financial aspect of the package. "It is early to talk about the financials before having the text in hand, but that would be a crucial stage, where as soon as you have the conditions of work before you, then you would also have the financials."

As for what the union is looking for in terms of the increase in pay, the MUT chief highlighted that the agreement expired three years ago. "It was an agreement that had been negotiated in 2017," he said. "We definitely need to update the financial aspect to reflect today's salaries, allowances, conditions of work, etc."

"What we want to see is that the financial package is updated to remain relevant for the years ahead and to be competitive as well. At the end of the day we want to attract the best people to our sector, and to do that you need to pay."

There has been concern about the impact on students that the directives are having. Bonnici said that the union has no intention of prolonging directives unnecessarily, and said that when the union has something concrete in hand, which is a draft agreement that they could take to their members, then there would be no reason for directives.

His wish is that the union will receive the documents and information in the coming days, he said, adding that when that happens he can talk to delegates and "we find the way forward even with regards to the directives".

Regarding the ITS industrial dispute, Bonnici said that negotiations had also been ongoing for three years, but had to stop due to MCAST. "Traditionally, MCAST and ITS move forward together in terms of working conditions and financial packages. MCAST is much bigger than ITS, so it is reasoned that MCAST has to be the driver when it comes to conditions and financials, and ITS must then come into the structure that will be set. But what happened was that we filed a trade dispute regarding ITS at the moment the government had stopped negotiating over MCAST, as we said that it would not only affect MCAST but also ITS that was waiting for developments at MCAST. ITS is on pause due to the MCAST questions."

"If we keep moving the way we are on MCAST, ITS will naturally enter into it once we have the MCAST conditions set."

Asked whether he believes the MUT is being perceived as a militant union, Bonnici believes that militancy and dialogue can go together. "Sometimes you need to be hard in your position, and at other times you can talk and reach agreement. But many times you need both and they alternate. Having a trade union as large as ours, where we are talking about the conditions of work for thousands of employees, to say that you will dialogue and definitely won't take action or hold protests is impossible. We are too big, everything we ask for is multiplied by thousands. If I ask for €100 for each member, that automatically translates to a million euros or ten million depending on the number of employees it effects, so you need to have strong positions."

"Militancy in itself isn't bad; what is important is that there is respect. I've always seen respect towards the union and the union always had respect for employers."

Rising student population

Asked about challenges educators face today that they did not face 10 years ago, he mentioned the rise in student population. "We had a situation where there were schools that were shrinking, the human resource manpower we had was adequate, although it was never enough," he said. But over the past 10 to 15 years, the population of some schools not only doubled, but quadrupled, he added. "The Sliema Primary School was a school that had only a few students added each year. Today the situation is that it cannot take any more students than it has. Like that school there are others. That is one of the biggest challenges when looking at manpower."

Asked whether there is a shortage of teachers to deal with the rise in student numbers, he said that the situation is such that if a teacher goes out on leave or sick leave or has a medical emergency, "it is very difficult to replace them, especially in certain subjects".

"We don't have classes that don't have a teacher, or there might be a few but the position is filled within days, but the reality is that if someone is absent it is very difficult to have a replacement."

Answering another question, he said that the service of supply teachers is used a lot. "That worries me. These supply teachers have opportunities to become regular teachers, undertake courses etc. but when you have a strong percentage of supply teachers, who do not yet have the full training of teachers, then that can affect the level of service given. If we remove supply teachers from the equation, then I would say we have an enormous shortage of teachers. With supply teachers, we don't."

Face-to-face communication

During the interview, Bonnici also spoke about children and communication. "We have situations where youths and children are closing themselves off and not communicating." There are many reasons for this, including that some might have certain conditions, he said, but another is technology. "Even face-to-face communication can be challenging for a person who is nearly all the time immersed in a device." He explained that many schools have policies prohibiting the use of devices on school grounds, and this is the reason.

"You need human interaction; it is an essential skill and if you don't develop it during the school years you will never acquire it."

"We need to give face-to-face communication value from a very young age."

He has heard from those who teach kindegarten or childcare that they have come across children who don't know how to talk. "How can you have a three- or four-year-old who doesn't know how to talk, unless there is a condition? If there is a condition then obviously we work on that condition. The reason, often, is that they don't have adults to talk to, but they do have their devices."

There are students whose language, the way they speak, "is like a video game, as practically the only thing they hear is the voice from the video game they play, and their English is not the English we know, but Americanised video-game English".

'We have every right to criticise the system'

Asked about the restrictions on teachers speaking to the media after a circular was issued requiring teachers to get written permission, Bonnici said the Ministry informed the union that it was taken from the Public Service Management Code (PSMC) that applies for all public officers, Bonnici said. "It is one thing to say that the PSMC says something, it is another to enforce it on civil service employees. As far as we know there hasn't been enforcement on this," although he said that the government could enforce it in the future.

What he told union members and the Ministry, he said, is that if a teacher is invited to speak in a professional capacity on the media, no one can dictate how they should speak, as long as they don't speak negatively about their school or employer. As an example, he said that a science teacher has the right to speak about science and teaching, but if they criticise the Ministry or their employer they understand that there could be consequences, like every employee would face consequences. "You cannot restrict me from giving my professional opinion and if someone restricts that we will stand up."

Told that educators might want to criticise the system and whether he believes this circular goes against free speech, Bonnici said that if it will be implemented in that way, then yes, highlighting that "we have every right to criticise the system".

"When it comes to the school, or the employer, we always suggested that educators use the normal channels, and its always been like that. When there is a problem in a school, we tell them not to speak about it, but that we (the union) will speak about it. This is because if they speak then they might attack that employee. If I speak nobody will attack me, or if they do, then they would be attacking the trade union." He said educators "have every right to criticise the system" but warned to be careful if mentioning for example specific people as they might face consequences. Bonnici said he believes in free speech for everyone and that not even public officers should have that restriction. "At most there should be an internal policy on how to approach the media, but there should be no restrictions of this nature."

A recycled proposal

The idea of extending school hours to better align with standard work schedules is a topic which was in the press recently following the publication of a study commissioned by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality. Bonnici described it as a recycled proposal. "If we did not have pre-school and after-school programmes in the country, I would say that those who conducted the study and those recommending it have a point."

"But this is not the case." He mentioned the breakfast club and said that "from around 7am this service would be up and running and parents can make use of it. Then after school there are clubs, which keep on operating until later, such as Klabb 3-16. If your work requirements do not permit that you take care of your children after school, then you can make use of these services, which are available." The breakfast club, he said, is also a good time for children to socialise together and also learn what is good for them to eat. The afterschool clubs are principally activity and homework clubs, he said, adding that there is strong value in them.

He also questioned whether the argument being made is from an educational perspective or from a convenience perspective, stating that he continues to believe that children, where possible, should be raised by their parents. "If not the parents, then by someone close to the parents in a home environment, such as grandparents. That is my philosophy."

"We cannot say that school is a replacement for home, it can never be that. The best service is at home, but if you cannot give that service at home, then there are services at school which are available."