MCAST staff secure €45m agreement after 'challenging' long-running dispute

Updated 1.50pm with ADPD statement

After years of disputes and directives, Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) staff officially have a new signed collective agreement, hailed as "the best" by Prime Minister Robert Abela.

Abela was joined by Education Minister Clifton Grima, Marco Bonnici the President of the Malta Union of Teachers, and MCAST head Stephen Vella,  to sign the new collective agreement at MCAST in Paola on Monday.

The Prime Minister described the new collective agreement as “the best agreement for MCAST", adding "we began this month with a message for the workers, and we ended it fulfilling a promise for our workers.” 

He also reaffirmed the government’s plan to reopen the MCAST crafts school in the next vocational year.

The new agreement will cover five years and is backdated from January 2022 until December 2027. It applies to a variety of staff, including educators, mentors, technicians, researchers and administrators.

The last collective agreement, which covered lecturers, LSEs, senior research officers, support services grades, student mentors and technicians, expired in December 2021.

Marco Bonnici, the head of the Malta Union of Teachers, described the journey to get to the agreement as “challenging”. However, he was thankful to all parties involved for finding a resolution and to the students for their patience.

He revealed that besides financial benefits through salary increases, the new agreement also introduced the grades of professor and associate professor for educators at MCAST.

“MCAST has now become the second institution to offer professorships.” He also shared that the first cohort of professors will be elected in the next few months.

The agreement has also established seven new grades, which are related to consultancy, career guidance, research, and mentoring.

Furthermore, technical and research employees at MCAST now have a clearer career progression structure, which includes flexible working hours, and access to allowances and professional development opportunities.

The new agreement also includes several work-life balance policies, which include: paid leave after giving birth, a clause on breastfeeding, remote working, and extended leave for emergency cases.

The government also announced that the academic year will shift to have 15-week semesters.

As MCAST is celebrating its 25th anniversary, Education Minister Clifton Grima, noted he "couldn’t think of a better way" to commemorate this milestone than with the agreement.

“Our education system must remain proactive and responsive to today’s realities. Throughout negotiations, our goal was to propose sustainable measures that reflect the duties of each profession, while keeping students at the centre," Grima said.

Negotiations for the new agreement have been tense, with the MUT issuing directives that included not disclosing assessment marks to students or management. The union also held several protests over the issue.

But in February, those directives were suspended for a new round of negotiations to begin. Those talks led to the agreement that members have approved.

Lack of respect – ADPD

ADPD on Monday crticised the government’s delay in signing the new collective agreemet for MCAST acadmics, saying it was done "three years late".

“Although the government is trying to take credit for this agreement, in fact the exaggerated delay stems from the unwillingness of the government and the public service itself to continuously dialogue seriously with the union. It comes from the disrespect that the government has for both public sector workers, unions and students,” ADPD said in a statement.