University lecturers to assess new draft collective agreement

Lecturers will today be presented with a new draft agreement following intensive meetings between their unions and the University that kicked off once industrial action directives were lifted last week.

The University of Malta Academic Staff Association will be giving members a copy of the draft, which includes revised wages, for their approval, association president Victor Buttigieg said.

After three intensive meetings last week, Umasa, the Malta Union of Teachers and the University came up with a draft of the agreement. The agreement was reached in the presence of the Director of the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations, Noel Vella, who acted as a mediator.

The impasse over the lecturers' wages between Umasa and the government dates back to last summer. The union had decided not to issue exam results but talks had restarted when the directives were lifted, following a protest rally by students.

Umasa asked lecturers last December to boycott committees, sub-committees and senate meetings, to stop work on the introduction of new courses, not to hold exams in January and not to publish assignment results until further notice.