Senior University of Malta academics will pocket a far better salary for working an extra three hours a week and renouncing their Christmas and Easter leave under the new collective agreement signed this week.

The agreement, which came after a long-drawn out dispute, was signed on Wednesday between unions representing University and Junior College lecturers and the University of Malta.

It extends the University's hours from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and gives currently employed academics two choices: under option A lecturers are expected to work until 8 p.m. once a week whereas those who go for option B maintain the same 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours.

The agreement, backdated to January 1 and extending to 2013, also lays down that academics going for option A have 40 days of vacation leave and the rest will be entitled to the same 40 days over and above the four weeks for Christmas and Easter holidays.

Figures obtained by The Times show that, under option A, a professor will earn an extra €16,000 by 2013 when compared to a professor who chooses option B.

Similarly, opting for option A will increase the pay of an associate professor and senior lecturer by €10,500 and €5,500 respectively.

The figures (see table) also show that while option A salaries for senior academics surpass the government's original offer by about €2,500, lower-ranking academics' wages are actually about €1,000 worse off when compared to that offer.

A glance at the numbers also shows that the agreed salaries are considerably lower than the original requests made by the Malta Union of Teachers and the University of Malta Academic Staff Association that represented the lecturers.

Although details of the agreement, including its cost, were not revealed during its signing, Education Minister Dolores Cristina said that if all lecturers go for option A it would cost the government an extra €41 million.

The agreement stipulates that newly-recruited lecturers have to take option A. This ties in with the spirit of the collective agreement that seeks to incentivise academics to further their degrees.

In fact, a research-based doctorate is a pre-requisite for a promotion to a grade above assistant lecturer. Those who have already surpassed the grade without the doctorate will not be able to be promoted further without the qualification.

Promotions for University resident academics will take into account research output and a written report will be drawn up including the number of courses taught, course content, students' feedback, new course development and teaching effectiveness among other factors.

The responsibilities of the academics are clearly outlined, as resident academics will be expected to divide their time between teaching, research and other academic work and their delivery will be monitored in the name of accountability.

Moreover, academic requirements will be determined and measured annually to form the basis of a benchmark. Delivery will be monitored to ensure a more equitable sharing of teaching load.

According to the agreement, the University also has obligations to meet because it is committed to back up lecturers' progress through funding, organising courses and allowing study leave, among other things. It will also provide resident staff with an academic resources fund and a research fund.

The agreement has been defined as a "reform" that sets the ball rolling for necessary changes in the roles and responsibilities of academic staff and strengthens the University's future.

It comes after months of heated negotiations and disputes between the lecturers' unions, the University and the government. The talks had been deadlocked over the financial package of the new collective agreement replacing the one that expired in December 2003.

It took a one-day strike, industrial action and lecturer and student rallies to bring the parties back round a table where, following three days of intense discussions, an agreement was struck last week.

Factbox: Some clauses in the new collective agreement

• Intellectual property rights, which previously belonged to the lecturer, are no longer copyrighted to the individual. The rights will belong to the University but the individual will be entitled to 50 per cent of net profits derived from commercial exploitation.

• The University will set up an intellectual property rights' office to help academic staff with the protection, registration and commercial exploitation of intellectual property.

• The agreement deletes a clause that says that University academics who fail to be granted a requested promotion are disqualified from re-applying for three years. This clause still stands for Junior College lecturers.

• University lecturers may engage in outside part-time professional activity as long as it does not conflict with their obligations, is disclosed in writing and is approved.

• All the University's resident academics will be required to follow a series of seminars organised by the University.

• Deans and heads will be responsible for ensuring that study units are delivered on time and according to the venue on the timetable.

• Both the University and Junior College will occasionally be subjected to external quality reviews.