The Nationalist Party on Friday noted that the MCAST collective agreement has finally been concluded after three years of prolonged uncertainty.

Throughout this period, the government created a situation where students continued to suffer the consequences of unnecessary delays - delays that, ironically, ended with the Government having to accept nearly all the proposals it had resisted for three whole years. This confirms that the hardship and discouragement experienced by those affected were entirely avoidable.

While the College can now begin moving forward again, this does not change the fact that three years of disillusionment were lost - years that affected students, lecturers, and all staff grades involved in this crisis.

The Partit Nazzjonalista has followed the situation closely, maintaining constant pressure on the Government to avoid further delays. At the same time, it has highlighted the structural shortcomings exposed during this process - not just in this particular agreement, but also in many others where delays have caused tangible harm due to a lack of leadership and determination.

The PN maintained continuous contact with students and their representatives - including the MCAST Students' Council - as well as with lecturers and the MUT.

The Partit Nazzjonalista now calls on the Government and MCAST to ensure that affected students receive the support and opportunities necessary to recover what they lost over these past years. At the same time, it expresses hope that this episode, which has tarnished MCAST's reputation, will be overcome in the shortest possible time.

The Partit Nazzjonalista urges the Government to heed the constructive criticism put forward by the Opposition, especially regarding the need to allocate more resources to the Industrial Relations Unit (IRU), to avoid such situations recurring in the future.

A new Nationalist Government will ensure such delays are eliminated by allocating the necessary time and resources to conclude collective agreements within a reasonable timeframe.

Finally, the PN expressed its appreciation to all trade unions in our country and thanks them for their ongoing work in defence of Maltese and Gozitan workers.