Updated 3.30pm with PN, UPE statements

Two Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) lecturers who obeyed directives issued by their union over unsafe working conditions have had their employment terminated, Times of Malta has learnt.

The institute sacked the lecturers after finding them guilty of “gross misconduct” since they had breached one of the clauses of the collective agreement when they obeyed directives issued by their union.

The Nationalist Party slammed the decision, describing it as illegal, unacceptable and a black day for industrial relations in Malta.

ITS, the government's tourism and hospitality school, insists that the directives ordered by the Union of Professional Educators were unofficial since the UPE did not enjoy recognition. The majority of staff members are represented by the Malta Union of Teachers.

The UPE and ITS have been locked in a long-standing dispute over what the union says are unsafe working conditions and the mixing of students of different levels.

Management had instructed lecturers to merge novice students with diploma students, who are more advanced in their studies, but the lecturers objected.

They argued there were clear health and safety concerns when exposing new students to machinery and tools used in food preparation and the situation was not conducive to an effective learning environment.

However, the tourism school charged the lecturers with “gross misconduct” before a disciplinary board presided by retired judge Geoffrey Valenzia.

The lecturers this week received notification of a decision with which their employment was terminated with immediate effect. They now have 10 days to file an appeal.

'Unconstitutional' clause in collective agreement 

The decision was taken despite a pending case before the constitutional court, in which they are arguing that the clause in the collective agreement on which the disciplinary action was based was unconstitutional and went against workers’ basic freedom to be affiliated with a union of their choice.

The clause states that “… any academics who organise and/or take part in any unofficial industrial action shall be liable to disciplinary action which may lead to dismissal”.

Mr Justice Neville Camilleri is due to continue hearing the case next week. In December, the court turned down a request by the lecturers and the union for an interim measure blocking the disciplinary action.

Without going into the merits of the complaint, the court ruled that an interim measure was extraordinary in nature and that the lecturers and the union had other remedies to resort to, including the filing of a case before the industrial relations tribunal.

UPE executive head Graham Sansone told Times of Malta when contacted on Wednesday that it was seeing a deterioration in industrial democracy where individuals cannot obey union directives. Describing this situation as “absurd”, he said the union would continue to protect the interests of its members.

The two lecturers had already seen a reduction in their salary in December, when the days they followed the directives were deducted from their wage. They also did not receive their annual increment like all other lecturers.

PN: Workers should be reinstated and illegal clauses removed from collective agreements

In its statement, the Nationalist Party said that instead of safeguarding workers' rights, the government was trampling on them and denying workers the constitutional right of freedom of association and the right to obey their union's directive, even if that union did not represent the majority. 

The PN too insisted that the clause in the ITS collective agreement restricting representation to one trade union was unconstitutional. Every union should be able to represent its members, the PN said, recalling that it also made this point in a statement on December 30.

It insisted that the two workers should be reinstated and compensated for their loss of income.

The Department of Industrial Relations should also ensure that clauses such as this were removed from collective agreements. 

The statement was signed by Mario de Marco, shadow minister for tourism, and Ivan Castillo, shadow minister for industrial relations. 

'A textbook case in North Korea' - UPE

The UPE in a separate statement said industrial democracy was at stake in this issue.

"Under the current administration, bullies within state-owned entities have been given room to trample upon the constitutional rights of workers by dictating what union they are allowed to subscribe to and which directives they can follow," it said.  

"If one dares go against the management's choice of union (such as what has happened at ITS) one is intimidated with the possibility of dismissal."

It said that what had happened at the ITS was "a textbook case in North Korea."