Reconciliation meeting inconclusive

As time continues to run out before the new academic year at the University of Malta starts, a reconciliation meeting held yesterday between the unions representing academic staff and the University's management was inconclusive.

The reconciliation meeting was held at the offices of the Director of Employment and Industrial Relations who intervened to save the day and solve a shaky situation which is threatening to stall the commencement of the new academic year on Wednesday. However, this attempt did not bear fruit as the meeting proved inconclusive.

The unions and the University management are at loggerheads over the new collective agreement for academic staff at the University of Malta and the Junior College. Negotiations had started in May last year, three-and-a-half years after the previous one expired in December 2003. During negotiations the parties had agreed in principle to the text of the new collective agreement but had failed to agree over the financial package being offered to lecturers.

During the reconciliatory meeting yesterday, the unions and the University management exchanged proposals and counter proposals and discussed them but, at the end of the meeting, agreement was still lacking.

Sources said they reiterated their positions but reached no positive conclusion. When contacted, the Malta Union of Teachers and the union representing the University's academic staff, UMASA, said there were still "big differences" between what they were requesting and what the University was offering.

UMASA president Victor Buttigieg said the unions were now analysing what happened during the meeting and will be deciding on the way forward. He insisted, however, that their doors would remain open to discussions, adding that "time was running out".

Several attempts to obtain a comment from the University management ever since the issue came to light last week proved unsuccessful with the University communications office saying that the rector was unavailable for comments.