Teachers' union declares dispute at Mcast

The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) yesterday said it had no alternative but to declare an industrial dispute with the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (Mcast) after the management remained uncompromising during negotiations on the collective agreement for academic staff.

The union is therefore calling a meeting with Mcast's academic staff members on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Teachers' Institute in Valletta.

Mcast said an industrial dispute would not solve the problem and it invited the MUT to resume negotiations. It said it was the union that had cut ongoing negotiations short.

The union accused the management of failing to compromise on the suggestions it had made in the last draft of the agreement.

"After months of negotiations, during which the union was relaying the expectations of the academic staff and addressing problems, it is worrying that the management stuck to its position without compromise. The MUT insisted that this was not the way in which an agreement ought to be negotiated as it would have a negative impact on the staff and the institution itself," the union said.

The management was not listening to what the union had to say and when a salary scale was not even presented in the latest draft agreement, the MUT felt it had no option but to resort to industrial action.

In reply to the MUT's statement, Mcast explained that it was building on the first collective agreement to create more opportunities for the academic staff, strengthen their professional qualifications and open up their careers.

Through the agreement, Mcast was looking towards the future of the academic staff. The new salary scales were connected to a new structure that was being discussed and that seemed to be acceptable to the MUT.

This was not the first time that, after it seemed there was an agreement, the MUT would change its mind and reopen discussions, the college said.

The union ought to appreciate the type of development required so that the college would make progress.