The MUT has been negotiating five collective agreements with the government for a long period - in most cases for years. Junior College Lecturers, MCAST Managers, Student Support Services grades, IFE grades and FES grades have expired collective agreements. 

The MUT has ongoing trade disputes in three of these agreements - Junior College, MCAST Managers and Student Support Services. Prior to the announcement of the election date, the union was involved in seeking agreements on the financial packages of these three agreements. With the announced election, came promptly the circular of OPM stating that no fresh approvals of financials shall be carried out during the election period.  Government negotiators shared swiftly the content of the said circular by telling us merely and crudely - 'take it or leave it'.

One would expect that the 'take it or leave it' attitude adopted by government negotiators with our negotiations was also adopted with regards to other agreements. This was clearly not the case. The government signed an average of one to two agreements per day since the dissolution of parliament.  

Everyone who is involved in collective bargaining knows well that financials are the final item that is agreed upon in all negotiations. Hence, the signing of the said agreements must have involved negotiations of financials - against the OPM circular but with the blessing of the government as one of the signatories.

Affected MUT members who are witnessing the signing of a charade of agreements are rightly up in arms. Because their salaries are stuck, their conditions of work have not improved, and they are waiting for an agreement which has been halted whilst other employees had theirs accelerated. Because employees are not equal, trade unions are not equal and for government negotiators, some are more equal than others.

This injustice in the government negotiations system has been felt and reported for years. Despite not speaking openly about it, some trade unions highlight it continuously during internal conversations. Usually these injustices are overcome through the intervention of politicians. But then again, some politicians are more equal than others and during campaign mode party politics takes precedence.

It is a matter of numbers as well. A hundred disgruntled employees and their families residing in different districts may not attract sufficient attention of the respective candidates who are campaigning for the election. Although it should clearly concern the parties in government and in the opposition.

And here we are, on the eve of an election facing yet another injustice with our long-expired collective agreements and affected employees in limbo.

Marco Bonnici is President of the Malta Union of Teachers