MUT justifies industrial dispute at Mcast

The Malta Union of Teachers, which is forging ahead with its industrial dispute with the Malta College of Art, Science, and Technology, has called a meeting for the college academic staff on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Teachers' Institute, in Valletta.

The union and Mcast are engaged in a debate after discussions over the collective agreement were suspended with each side publishing statements explaining its stand.

The union registered the dispute on Friday and the next day Mcast came out expressing its surprise, insisting the industrial action was not justified.

The union said yesterday it was impressed by the stand Mcast had adopted, explaining why it had suspended the talks.

Behind the union's back, the union claimed, the college had allowed adverts to appear in the press inviting applications for the post of IT teacher with a salary that was higher than that established in the existing collective agreement.

"This situation would have led to discrimination among teachers and to a precedent in the trade union's sector," the union said.

Though the union asked the college to retract this advert, the request was ignored, the MUT said.