Updated 1pm with minister's comments

The Malta Union of Teachers have concluded another draft agreement about educators' work and pay conditions with the government and will be asking their members to vote on it next week.  

The agreement will determine conditions for educators in state and church schools.

The teachers’ union had already reached agreement with the government last May, but union members expressed dissatisfaction with the conditions on offer.

MUT then froze a vote on the agreement and returned to the negotiating table. 

That first agreement included a raft of other proposals including revised starting salaries for kindergarten teachers (KGEs) and learning support educators (LSE), quicker salary progression, a one-off payment of €1,000 and an additional allowance of €2,000 for those with more than 20 years' experience, among others. 

Basic salaries would have stayed the same under the proposed changes, with pay increases effected through increased allowances.

On Thursday morning, the teachers’ union said in a statement "discussions with the government have been concluded, and updates have been included in the new sectoral agreement text”. 

The details are not yet clear and Times of Malta has reached out to the Education Ministry and the MUT.

From Monday, the union will be holding meetings with teachers so that they can see a physical copy of the agreement. 

MUT educators will then have between Thursday and Saturday to vote on whether they approve of the latest version of the sectoral agreement.  

Education Minister Clifton Grima said he was looking forward to seeing the closure discussions within the union so that educators can start to benefit from an unprecedented new agreement.  

“I welcome the news that the MUT now feels it can go back again to its members with the draft agreement,” he said.   

The agreement not only shows respect for educators but also a substantial improvement in conditions, he said.  

Contacted for comment MUT president Marco Bonnici said that the teachers' union negotiated for amendments to reflect members' requests.

Negotiations over the agreement have been ongoing for months and reached a boiling point in November when a one-day strike was held. 

Matters also came to a head in spring when MUT said it was considering resorting to industrial action again.