Updated at 5.00pm with ITS statement
The teachers' union on Saturday declared a new trade dispute with the government over educators' working conditions, this time because of delayed negotiations for a collective agreement for ITS educators.
The dispute was registered after the government announced that talks on a new collective agreement for lecturers at MCAST would only resume when the Malta Union of Teachers called off industrial action that impacted students, the Ministry of Education said on Wednesday.
On Friday, permanent secretary Joyce Cassar said MCAST management had accepted many demands made by the MUT, which, among others wanted MCAST lecturers to get a €400 allowance to correct re-sit exam papers and an extra 10 days of holiday leave.
But on Saturday the union said in a statement that the "unwarranted developments of this week - when the government chose to close negotiations at MCAST by refusing MUT's claims" took a toll on MCAST and also ITS.
It said that, traditionally, negotiations at MCAST and ITS proceeded in parallel, owing to the vocational stream among others.
"The decision of the government to halt negotiations and to repeatedly attack MUT impacted ITS grades and students alike," MUT said.
ITS too had a collective agreement that expired three years ago and negotiations have been ongoing ever since, the union said. The expired collective agreement impacts lecturers and learning coaches.
"All affected grades are being held hostage by the government which chose confrontation instead of social dialogue with the MUT.
"ITS MUT members are rightly feeling abandoned by the government and are seeing the prospective deadline to close their agreement shifting further through the government’s actions," MUT said, adding that to this effect, it was declaring a trade dispute with the government.
FORUM condemns government 'attack' on MUT negotiations
In a separate statement, the Confederation of Maltese Trade Unions expressed "grave concern and unequivocal condemnation" of the government's decision to "publicly attack" MUT's negotiations.
"This action represents a blatant attempt to undermine good faith negotiations and is a clear tactic of unfair arm-twisting aimed at weakening the union’s legitimate efforts to secure a fair agreement for its members," FORUM said.
MUT is a member of FORUM.
FORUM said the government's actions were highly concerning because they eroded trust in the negotiation process, led to the manipulation of the public through selective release of information and disregarded workers' rights.
FORUM urged the government to immediately cease such "divisive practices" and return to the negotiation table in a spirit of genuine collaboration.
"We remind the government that collective bargaining is a cornerstone of democracy and social justice, protected by local and international labour standards.
"Attempts to undermine a union through public disclosure and manipulation harm not only the workers directly involved but also Malta’s reputation as a nation that upholds fundamental rights and respects its commitments under international labour conventions."
FORUM also called on the public to keep in mind the broader context of the situation.
It said employees represented by MUT were key contributors to the development of Malta’s future generations. They deserved respect, recognition, and fair working conditions and not public vilification or attempts to delegitimise their demands.
ITS clarifies progress on MUT Academic Collective Agreement
In a separate statement, the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) said over the past months, ITS and the Industrial Relations Unit (IRU) have engaged in "constructive dialogue" with MUT and its delegates, which resulted in significant progress.
ITS said the parties had reached a mutual agreement on the text and financial terms, and MUT had lifted the directives affecting ITS in September.
"ITS remains committed to constructive discussions to close this issue and sign the agreement so that the lecturers will start to benefit from the excellent packages being offered, as this will certainly impact the students positively at the end of the day."