Tuesday, 30th September 2008 - 16:18CET

UPDATED: Government makes 'take it or leave it' offer to lecturers - unions disappointed

The Finance Ministry has warned trade unions representing university lecturers that it would withdraw a packet of pay increases offered to them in the past few weeks if they continue to refuse it. The ministry said its proposals would substantially improve the pay of the university academic staff and cost the country more than €55 million over six years.

Reacting to comments made this morning by the leaders of the Malta Union of Teachers and the University of Malta Academic Staff Association, the Finance Ministry said the pay demands being made by the unions were unrealistic. Were they to be accepted, they would cost the country €140 million over six years.

In publishing the union requests, the ministry pointed out that in some grades, they would amount to an immediate increase of 80%.

The unions earlier today revealed part of the governemnt offer and ordered the lecturers to strike tomorrow. See http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080930/local/university-lecturers-to-strike-tomorrow

Trade unions’ request

Grade	Current package	Packet requested for 2009	Packet requested for 2014
	€	€	€
Professor	37,806	69,285	85,993
Associate Profs	34,466	64,203	79,350
Senior Lecturer	31,118	57,677	70,514
Lecturer	27,371	48,851	59,514
Asst Lecturer (MA)	24,251	32,955	39,720
Asst Lecturer	22,635	31.249	37,672

Government offer

Grade	Current package	Packet offered for 2009	Packet offered for 2014
	€	€	€
Professor	37,806	41,560	64,800
Associate Profs	34,466	37,376	55,843
Senior Lecturer	31,118	32,311	44,156
Lecturer	27,371	28,377	38,066
Asst Lecturer (MA)	24,251	25,392	31,417
Asst Lecturer	22,635	23,584	29,263

In a reaction to the government statement, the UMASA and the MUT in a joint statement this evening said they were asking academic staff to study the offered remuneration carefully.

"Take senior lecturers for example, who constitute a significant proportion of the academic staff at the University. The remuneration in 2008 of €31,118 (Lm13,358) is based on a collective agreement that expired in 2003, with a slight correction in 2007 to keep us in line with the civil service salaries to which the old agreement had been pegged. Now, five years after expiry of this collective agreement, and in the context of wide-ranging reforms at the University which will directly affect the working conditions of the academic staff, adding a significantly increased commitment that they have to give to the University, the government offers in 2009 a total package of €32,311 (Lm 13,871), a “generous” increase of €1,193 (Lm 512) or 3.8%.

"This assumption is based on the further shaky assumption that all deserving academic staff members will receive the full performance bonus, as has been the case to date, but for which there is no guarantee in the future.

"The offered package will increase to €44,156 (Lm 18,956), but this over six further years (i.e. a full eleven years after the expiry of the existing collective agreement)!

"If one calculates the increases from the total 2003 salary over the eleven years, this works out to an annual increase of about 4.5%. All of this is being offered to academics who were already underpaid in 2004."

The unions said they were surprised and disappointed that after two years of intense negotiations over a comprehensive package intended to reform the University, the government was now threatening to withdraw the whole package and decline to support its investment in Malta’s most valuable asset – its human resources and future generations.

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Comments

p.grima (on 3/10/08)

One must remember that there are many other jobs which are a lot more dangerous by their own nature. (even if not professional, but still dangerous)

p.grima (on 3/10/08)

This seems to me a lot worse than the demands made by the Transport Association in their last strike.

J Grech (on 2/10/08)

In my opinion Mr Bencini and the MUT should take into consideration what the university of malta is producing. Lets take in consideration the Faculty of Education (A faculty that must be at heart for the MUT, since its the faculty that produces teachers). In few months time during Graduation cememonies No B.Ed Computing teacher will be graducating. From ALL 8 students that started reading for the B.Ed computing Degree in 2004 NO one will be graduating in 2008. From 5 students between 2003 and 2007 only 2 managed to graduate.

Do we need Computing Teachers in our Schools? Why these students did not manage to graduate?

J.BORG (on 2/10/08)

@Joseph Borg
If you think academics work 3 hours a day....then you are very misinformed. It *may* be true that students interact with lecturers for only 3 hours a day....but you seem to be unaware of what an academic career involves. We do not only lecture......to undergraduate students. We also supervise postgraduates (MPhils, MSc and PhDs)....we setup new courses, we apply for EU funding, we negotiate project agreements, we administer projects awarded, both technically and many times from a financial perspective, we attend project meetings, we attend board meetings for which Government appoints us due to our expertise (and many times and nil fees), we manage our labs and meet our well-trained lab officers to plan and do so, we meet foreigners visiting our University and also host delegations from eg Malta Enterprise to help them attract FDI to Malta, we plan labs, we select equipment, we prepare presentations of research work we present at international conferences, we interact with various stakeholders such as FOI, MCST, Malta Enterprise, Ministries, we try to find time to do our own research etc.& you think this is done in 3 hours? Please: distinguish between part-time & full-time academics!

Gerald Fenech (on 2/10/08)

I canno believe my eyes when reading such figures. The government sholdn't even give them half of what they are proposing!! Incredible largesse - what do they expect from a bankrupt country? It's a complete scandal.

G.Hoare (on 2/10/08)

The goverment should give the lecturers the pay they are asking , and in return he can tax @65% in tax like some other EU because they will be in the 65.000 euro pa Bracket, then that would in line anyway ,they have to remember that greed never gets you anywere at the end

Ian abela (on 2/10/08)

@ MR S. Sammut
No. 1---->I quote: "Isn't a Univ lecturer equal to a CEO". On what grounds?? In what way?? In that they have a 50/50 chance of sharing the same gender possibly. Everything that their job entails is different. There is no argument as to what is more "useful" or "difficult" because that is for no one to judge- certainly not me or you.....Yet the fact is that the CEOs that do get paid better than lecturers do so because they are a rarer commodity, and/or are more sought after. Plain economics (not too confusing I trust).
No.2---> I quote: "Why not compare wages with counterpart EU countries". First of all you can go on wikipedia and check it out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor#Salary_of_professors_.28Europe.29
.
according to the above, turns out our dear professors already earn more than those in Belgium, France and Sweden. Their requested package would make them the best paid professors in Europe. Out of all the countries mentioned, Malta has the LOWEST GDP per capita.....so how on earth are the proposed wages even fathomable? In any case, it is ridiculous to demand what academics get in other countries without considering the cost of living.

R Pullicino (on 2/10/08)

How come MUT is requesting more than €30,000 per annum for an assistant lecturer, and then accepted without any problems less than half this sum for a regular teacher within primary or secondary schools? Is it the case that university academic staff are first class members while regular teachers are relegated to second class members within the union?

Konrad Abela (on 2/10/08)

What a joke!

These Lecturers (and unions) remind me of Aladdin rubbing on his magic lamp and requesting his wishes to the genie. As if the government can afford paying the wages requested and really and truly why should lecturers earn that kind of money when other professionals working in Malta are earning far less. If other countries are offering high remuneration, go work abroad. Now you can.

Personally I would change the whole academic system and invest in a broadband infrastructure where virtual professors can teach students at the comfort of their own home. Let's move ahead. This will save government, students, parent’s and taxpayers a heap load of money.

I just spent over 1000 euro on my two boys on uniforms and books. For God's sake, they are still 5 year old (twins) attending year 1.

Well done to the government for sticking to your guns but ...

move on.

Edward Mangion (on 2/10/08)

Close to 86,000 a year?! What are they expecting?! I have some close relatives who attend university and all they say is that the majority of the lecturers and professors don't even give a hoot about their students! I'm not saying all of them, but the majority! And they're demanding 86,000 a year?! With a secured job and no health worries?! What should fishermen, construction workers, etc. earn than since they have their own lives in the middle?!

Not even in the EU, because they earn MUCH less than what the unions are expecting.

Joseph Borg (on 2/10/08)

85,993 euros for just 3 hours a day.....shame on you!!!

M Micallef (on 1/10/08)

I have been to University myself and because of the few very good lecturers I was supporting their cause. Unfortunatelly after reading some of the comments here from "academics" I suddenly got this churning feeling in my stomach remembering the "other" lecturers and the anarachy which almost rules UOM! I remember chasing around UOM for the so called credits, with absolutely no help at all. Lecturers just not turning up for lectures. Some of them where proud of their student fail rate! I hear that till this day students are treated with contempt by some of our "accademics". A n occcasional greeting entering the the lecture theatre might also help. Presenting exam results on time also helps. You know who you are!
The problem is (and present in most of the Maltese system) THERE IS NO ACCOUNTABILITY. Check how many lecturers miss lecturers, get some feedback from students and see for yourselves.
Please be realistic in your salary requests, getting 14.9% MORE in 2009 than a UK counterpart is a bit over the top. You deserve a comesurate salary BUT remove those bad apples, because as I see it that's the only chance you have.

Michael Tabone (on 1/10/08)

@J.Borg (The Academic)

In the end it is not the lecturer who makes the student get the grades and excel in his/her studies, but the student him/her-self. If a student wants something they strive for it, and beat the system...Thats the idea....you never allow the system to beat you. You work your guts out and the results are produced!

A lecturer can't always try to g ain the credit for a student's achievments. The lecturers may use this as an excuse a lot, they don't spoon feed the students. To me it'sanother way of saying, hey I'm just there to talk, it's up to the student to understand what I'm saying, not myself. But the very worst part of being in Univesity in Malta, is putting up with the disastrous syllabus. Where you learn a lot of useless (out_of_date) nonsense, all for nothing, just to answer a single question in the_exam if it_even_comes_out.

A better pay will not make lecturers any better then they already are. It will help motivate you, to be better, but then it's all down to the passion you have for teaching that subject and your ability to teach.

D.Cachia (on 1/10/08)

In reply to J.Borg:

I can attest to the fact that there are some lecturers who are excellent teachers and others who are overworked but still approach their job with passion. However, others are a disgrace to the profession. According to my 5 year long research (sitting on my behind in lecture rooms), it appears that the higher the grade, the lower the quality.

Some senior lecturers and professors don't have the very first idea about teaching. I hate to have to say this, but teaching does not involve reading from a book. I can do that perfectly fine on my own at home, thank you very much. Similarly, reciting slides and mumbling incoherently while students are trying to write down a copy of said slides (because you do not provide a copy), does no good because it is impossible to concentrate on both writing and listening to the lecturer at the same time.

Do these people deserve the pay rise they are asking for? Sure, preparing those slides took time, but surely not €80k worth of time! Go tell that to all those who failed exams due to their lecturers' negligence and incompetence.

Michael Tabone (on 1/10/08)

May I ask, how do you make a bad lecturer into a good lecturer by increasing his/her pay?

Where does the ability to teach come from? You gain it with experience but also you usually are born with that ability. It is not an ability one decides to take on when their pay is heavilly increased....

All a pay increase does is motivate, but there are other ways of motivating employees. Lecturers should be motivated to provide a good lecture by their passion to teach a subject they are experienced in, as well as their interest in that subject. Without the passion for teaching that subject, you have a bad lecturer. And I've come across many, and heard about many.

What I'm saying is, a pay increase of that exageration is not going to make a difference.

Wake up, to the real world please.

Joanna Cassar (on 1/10/08)

So the unions are demanding so much from the government..... in return for what ? They say they have been discussing so many things....what were these things ?
Can the Honourable Minister Tonio Fenech explain how he came up with that amount ?
Can we get some real facts here ?
Can we safeguard our University and not run the risk of what happened in the health sector when Malta lost such precioius expertise because of a feud with the government ?
Since when has a member of the FLIMKIEN KOLLOX POSSIBLI group given such an arrogant ultimatum ?

Loïc Le Brun (on 1/10/08)

@ all

Again, please could someone provide me with fresh data regarding the average wages in Malta? Please? Thank you

@ Mr. Buhagiar

Dear Sir, I am still waiting for an answer from you regarding how many hours you work a week / year? Full time, part time? One has to compare peer with peer.

@ Mr. Noel Cutajar

Many thanks. This is a very good example and I can have a better picture now regarding what is happening regarding the Maltese Police Forces. You see, one of my favorite Uncle, now retired, also used to be a Police Officer (in Rennes, a big city North West of France) and he unfortunately also always complained about the same. Police do a great, difficult, sometimes dangerous job and, as such, should also be rewarded accordingly. You have my full support.

James Sultana (Birkirkara) (on 1/10/08)

I, James Sultana, from Valletta residing in Birkirkara, wish to clarify that the James Sultana who posted comments further down is not myself. I disassociate myself from his comments.

J.Borg (on 1/10/08)

.....I AM AN ACADEMIC. There may indeed be *a few* bad apples amongst us but the others are doing their job + over and above their duties. If some of us manage to get days off in Summer.....it is because this is our vacation period. If as being told, we skip lectures, we deliver poor quality work, we do not update our notes.... it means that we are not doing our work....it must also mean that we generate poor graduates....is this what you mean? If that is the case, how is Malta managing to excel in a number of sectors? Why do our graduates all excel when doing postgrad abroad? Please read the facts. We have been working patiently with an expired collective agreement since 2003. Who would do so? Also, our work load has considerably increased ie staff:student ration; incoming exchange students; bidding and managing EU projects etc. Do Maltese want....full time & dedicated lecturers? Fact: In my faculty, 5 full-timers left in 2008. In my Department 2 full-timers already left in 2008! A couple of months ago Govt said Malta is doing economically really well! But now things changed as we got the votes....

J. borg (on 1/10/08)

ridiculous.. should everyone strike for a demand in increase in wages ? i am sure that a good percentage of the population has a much less income than lecturers! and what about the after work hours undeclared tuition? Is anyone taking a note of their real payslip at the end of the month..

S.Sammut (on 1/10/08)

What about the exorbitant overspending fhe ministries incurred in the run up for the election months, a stark act of incumbency.Was that sustainable??? The country's deficit has increased thanks to such maladministration of the country's coffers. Next ones to rise up and demand salary increase should be the teaching staff. Salary relativity has deteriorated beyond proportions. Self-employed are free to charge, earn and declare whatever they like. Tax evasion is rampant not from salaried employees but from those who nurture the black economy. If lecturers are professionals they should earn like professionals do. Isn't a Univ lecturer equal to a CEO. Just check what blue-eyed lads and lasses earn on different boards being politically appointed. Why not compare wages with counterpart EU countries. Or should we just compare gravy things which make some believe that we are in a fior del mondo state.Who are we kidding. Come on Bencini, next on line should be the teaching staff who have been burdened over and over again with duties and requirements and no compensation at all.

Martin Scicluna (on 1/10/08)

..and what about the non academics? They were not mentioned anywhere. Do you think their salaries reflect the work they do? As if the academics only does most of the work. What about if the non academics were to strike? Would the lecturers be able to go on with their job because I doubt it.

Adrian Camilleri (on 1/10/08)

Here's a table of comparison for professor salaries throughout Europe:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor#Salary_of_professors_.28Europe.29

Ian Abela (on 1/10/08)

Thanks for the compliment Heidi ho, most appreciated. I'm afraid you missed my point though. "So what if certain types of learning are more practical then others" (you meant thAn not 'thEn surely). When did i question the 'practicality' or usefulness of any profession? Quite the contrary, I said that each wage was just the interaction of market forces, just like prices of fruit and veg at the market. It is actually you who is comparing the value of different professions when you say that academics deserve better because they help shape the future, when you wrote "These Lecturers are shaping the next generation of professionals, show them some respect." ....And the plumber fixes my sink, the priest hears my confession, the grocer sells me my food and the mechanic fixes my car......Never does anyone say that these people deserve more money. If they charge too much, then consumer goes elsewhere, and they then lower their prices. If the consumer finds the service satisfactory, the consumer goes back and the prices remain stable or maybe even increase. I am surprised that so many people fail to understand such elementary economics. Apologies if this has hurt your social conscience.

E Grech (on 1/10/08)

The strike was a failure!!. there was no difference from other days where most lecturers do not turn up.

Joseph Galea (on 1/10/08)

The comments by Manuel Ciappara (and by P. Debono agreeing with him) recommending that the University be bulldozed "because you can get all the information from the internet" must make the Guinness Book of Records for the most asinine comment in human history!

J Muscat (on 1/10/08)

My one recommendation to any one who is a lecturer and wants a better salary and a more rewarding job is :
Leave University, leave Malta and as a result improve your quality of life and standard of living.
I've been there.

R Caruana (on 1/10/08)

I just would like to say one thing.. I agree that the lecturers need a pay rise.. But in all honesty so those everyone else..

One of the reasons for the lecturers pay comes from the fact that the goverment gives money to students via stipends and this is not done anywhere else..

Students abroud have to pay for university or work hard for a scholaship with no funding from the government. Hence why the lecturers probably would have a higher wage abroud. . I am not saying that the government should remove stipends because I agree with them 100%.

All I am saying is that these lecturers need to be realistic... and yes if you want a higher wage then what this country has to offer.. then why not move abroud.. and goodluck to you after..

A. Bezzina (on 1/10/08)

Wonder if 10 years ago my 'sexual harrasment' complaint was shot down and not taken anywhere by the authorities because lecturers should also be paid more not to engage in such activities with students!!! God! I wish I knew then what I know now cause some lecturers would still be behind bars not picking up the soap bar from the showers!

malcolm seychell (on 1/10/08)

What about start getting some legal immigrants to work at university

Carm Cachia (on 1/10/08)

I am utterly digusted with this. I have always backed that educationalists in Malta need to be looked after and be given grants for research and further studies but the requests mentioned here are not sustainable and do not make sense.

Not even in the commercial industry highly qualified persons are paid that much. And what are the number of hours done by these professors at the unviversity and at home (if any) and therefore what would be the rate.

Now I will not talk about the quality of material and lectures being done by these lecturers because from what I hear from students some of the material is either copied from books or else the subject matter is not clearly taught.

However the demands are just out of this world. One cannot compare the salaries abroad with Malta just for one sector and if the government gives in this could ripples on all the other industries...and would be just a disaster.

My message to the lecturers would be "remember the famous doctor's strike in the past?"...please don't let the same happen.

Simon Swartz (on 1/10/08)

Are we serious here?

Double the payroll Double the teachers' laziness.

Most of the lecturers at University have a part-time job apart from the primary job thus they surrely do not have any problems with regards to money. Most of the teachers teach private lessons also.

The goverment should keep his stance and not pay the amount requested by the MUT which is causing unneccessary trouble just to show that the union is doing "something" for its members once in a year.

M Buttigieg (on 1/10/08)

All of this reminded me of a lecturer I used to have..way back in '98..who literally used to dictate the notes during lectures...with the full stops and all!! We used to ask questions on purpose but obviously she wouldn't be able to answer...she would just read the sentence again and again!! When we reported her, year after year... but no action was taken...The situation still stands (cause i confirmed with a student who's doing the course now)...I wonder whether she deserves that payrise...

L. Aquilina (on 1/10/08)

@B Demanuele

What a total plonker... compared to England and Germany, almost all of us are getting peanuts here and not just lecturers!! Besides I have not seen many people improve their motivation via a payrise only. How many hours in the year do these people work??

Carmel J. Caruana (on 1/10/08)

With our international work we make Malta known to people who would otherwise not know it exists. Most of us go on conferences in our ‘HOLIDAYS’ as there’ss no time to do it during the year. Supervising student theses is difficult as the number of students who work independently has become minimal (we maintain contact with them by email when on conference!). Our lectures have to be prepared with such attention that it takes a minimum of twenty hours preparation for a single lecture (and that if you know the subject well, and the lectures have to be UPDATED EVERY YEAR). There are some of us who do not pull their weight. Such black sheep can be found in every job. I can assure you that we REAL academics welcome the time when we have politicians who have the decency to remove such people as they give us a bad name. I can assure you that most of us REAL academics rue the day when we took the decision to stay on this island; if we had left in our younger years we would now have lucrative posts in international universities that treat their academics with the respect they deserve.

Carmel J. Caruana (on 1/10/08)

Obviously many of the people in this blog have never had experience of REAL academics. Those of us who are dedicated to our academic work have not had a whole day off from our work since the first day of employment at university; our students and research are continuously on our mind when we are at home, in our car, when we are with our own family (case in point yesterday I met a student to discuss corrections in her thesis at 6 - 7.30pm in my home town). We have not had a weekend completely off for untold years. Our work is never finished because to be at the forefront of one’s area of research one has to compete in the INTERNATIONAL arena (not with a small group of peers from a small Mediterranean island). Moreover the research agenda is continuously shifting. And if any of you think that the university is doing us some kind of favour when it gives us money to present work at conferences - try going to one yourself - YOU ARE EXPECTED TO DELIVER ORIGINAL WORK in front of 100s experts in the field. If you think it’s a relaxing experience think again.

Rachel Attard (on 1/10/08)

The dockyard workers were first. The university lecturers and their unions are second. Any other comment is superfuous.

Bertu cassar (on 1/10/08)

I fully agree with James Sultana's comments.

H Dempster (on 1/10/08)

I dont agree with such hiking high rise wages , which is exhorbitant for our small island and
which is out of proportion with the standard wages.
However, i think i know from where these lecturers got the idea. My son , who decided to take up residence in Luxemburg , who incidentally Is a teacher and worked his way through 2 B EDUCS earns euros 2000 per month for working only 25 hours per week.

How is that for wages?

J Farrugia (on 1/10/08)

Shame on the MUT shame on UMASA. the salaries they are asking are crazy. If they do not want to work in Malta they are free to go wherever they want. Is this why they voted to join the EU. to treble their salaries. How arrogant can these lecturers be. As for those students who are approving these crazy demands by the lecturers, I have a solution for the government. Stop immediately the stipends system and what the coffers save we give to these lecturers. Is this to your satisfaction dear students? No wonder the Government threw out their stupid demands. A salary more than that of the PM. How shameful can this Bencini and his cpounterpart of UMASA be. And they look down with disdain at us poor workers. No wonder the abuses which occur at the Campus.

Daniela Grech (on 1/10/08)

@James Sultana

As one of the "lawyers" who don't practice in Court, I can firmly assure you that I do serve my country (and yourself) with committment and dedication in such a way that I'm giving you back your "investment" in my education. As you said, law is a "profession" and therefore I believe that 18 (when one generally chooses one's area of study) it is too young to decide what one is to do with the rest of one's life, leading to what you seem to so vehemently condemn - a change of mind and heart. The law course gives you the education and aptitude necessary for many areas of work, and it would be highly restrictive to limit the outcome of 6 years of study to whether one litigates in Court. The law graduate who works in other areas still uses the knowledge acquired in the law course, such as writing skills and legal interpretation, and in general makes a very good job out of what he or she would be doing. The law course does not produce merely litigators, but mostly young professionals with a quick mind who are able to use it in many areas!

Heidi Ruggier (on 1/10/08)

This guy below me is an idiot. Why pay stipends? So we can promote and have an educated population. Its already sad enough that a small percentage of students take advantage of the schooling system here. So what if certain types of learning are more practical then others. In th end, you will have a well educated society WHO KNOW HOW TO THINK, no matter what subject you challenge them with. Those are the skills you learn in university. Fix up.

It's sad that society no longer values educators or education. These Lecturers are shaping the next generation of professionals, show them some respect. On the flipside, some lecturers need to fixup themselves, as some are a joke. Maybe if the university offered better pay, the best intellectuals would teach instead of going to make money in the private sector. Think about it.

Ian Abela (on 1/10/08)

I'm sorry but wages are simply a matter of supply and demand, nothing else. There is nothing "right" or "wrong" about them- when it comes to momey there is no room for moral posturing. Lecturers have no right to jeopardise 10,000 or so students' learning intents just because they dont see their wage bill as handsome as those of other professions. When deciding on what career to pursue, they should have taken into account the fact that academics seem to have become "ten a penny", and thus are not paid so well. Should the demand for academics' skills increase or their supply decrease, then the ever-stabilising market forces will result in a higher pay cheque for the Profs. Maybe the disgruntled lecturer should stop clamouring for more money and finally take his job seriously and show up for his lectures instead of leaving several students guessing as to whether they have a lecture or not.

J Axiak (on 1/10/08)

hopefully at least 3 VERY RESPONSIBLE persons would be assigned to monitor and report the situation in different depts so that any abuses would be reported immediately and with confidence. Its easy to ask for more if you are not being monitored! and hopefully this issue wont end up like always ... a farce! If a lecturer deserves more he will be awarded but if a lecturer deserves to be punished .. he will be punished!!

Alistair Facciol (on 1/10/08)

Dear James Sultana,
you seem to be quite informed about the whole situation in Malta. Could you please tell me the way you reached the conclusions (amongst others) that maltese teachers and communication studies are "not really needed by the country" and that law students study law not for the profession but because it is a status symbol??? You should seriously consider becoming a psychologist since you know why more than hundreds of students study law or else...why not consider taking up the post of Minister for Education? Let's say the government takes up your very bright idea of not giving stipend to law students...who would consider taking up the law course if it is one of those underprivileged courses? It would be much more difficult for you (being a psychologist or whatever) to find a suitable young lawyer to defend your rights! But...then who cares...i think you don't need a lawyer because you already know your rights...

KCaruana (on 30/9/08)

The whole issue is a farce! University emplyees are 99% of the time part-timers with poor qualification as lecturers in the fist place and who often hold down a well-paying job as their primary source of income. Furthermore the UoM does NOT offer any kind of research or tutoring for research which would even remotely justify such a salary. Most lecturers just doggedly repeat the same lecture year after year, word for exact word to a new set of students. THIS is what we're going to waste our tax-payers' money on??? How about investing in the national health service, pension schemes or social services instead? I'm sure better use can be made of this money than fulfilling the demand of super-egos just because they are backed by the union?!

Gavril Flores (on 30/9/08)

I think that the main problem is that all (or almost all) lecturers take the performance bonuses while there are some that do not perform. The case is that there are lectureres who in a whole year they do not write an article or deliver a conference and then recieve a performance in this regard. Why not take what go is offering and then provide GOOD bonuses for lecturers who perform??

Noel Cutajar (on 30/9/08)

Let me give you an example...a police inspector who has reached maximum scale 7 earns Lm8700 per year. He works a minimum of 48 hours per week. He does not work in an air conditioned environment, no health insurance (unless he pays for it), no perks which commensurate with his job. He is given a Lm5 voucher every two months to pay for the use of his personal mobile. He is paid around Lm40 per year for use of his telephone at home. He is not paid overtime except if he works on a Sunday or a Public Holiday which in that case he is only paid the first 8 hours...the rest nothing!! He is paid around Lm30 per month if he exceeds 20 hours in addition to his 48 hours of work. He is subjected to physical and emotional abuse every hour of the day. He is to perform three tasks at one go. He can be shot at, stabbed, punched, swore at and not to mention the effect on his family.

If the Academic staff think they have low wages they really do not know what life can offer!!

Martin Bonanno (on 30/9/08)

Who do these lecturers think they are? do they think they are indispensable? I bet that we get loads of highly qualified immigrants arriving from Africa. How about offering the best of them a lecturing job that they would appreciate and wholly dedicate themselves to for a fraction of these ridiculous amounts being proposed?

Joe Meli (on 30/9/08)

The lecturers' demands are plainly ridiculous. Who in Malta earns those salaries?

I'd like to see some lecturers write in and justify the wage increases they are asking for. That would really be interesting to read!

Horace Grima (on 30/9/08)

With an economic crisis looming and people losing their jobs they expect these ridiculous pay rises.

As many have said the lecturers' service leaves much to be desired, but it is not only about turning up late or not being available for their students or using decades old notes. How much research do these lecturers do? How many papers do they publish? And I mean work that they do themselves. Slapping their names on the results of their PhD students' hard work just so they can head of to a conference in some exotic destination doesn't count!

Loïc Le Brun (on 30/9/08)

@ Mr. Buhagiar

Dear Sir, thank you for answer. Are salaries talks a taboo in Malta? Again I cannot find any relevant data even on European websites. I agree with you that 738 euros a month is not much considering the spiraling local prices.
May I ask you if you work full time (like 8 to 5 or more) and the whole year long?
Thanks, Loïc

James Sultana (on 30/9/08)

The whole situation is a farce :

- there are some Lecturers who become such with practically no working experience in their field
- there are some Lecturers who rarely go to give lectures
- WE pay stipends to students in some courses whose graduates are not really needed by the country (such as teachers of Maltese and the Communication studies)
- WE pay stipends to students who take courses to graduate in a profession which is more of a status symbol than a profession for them ( such as many of those who chose law and then never go to the law courts in their lives, becoming Media Officers, Editors, Journalists, presenters, violin players, etc ) or else leave the country as soon as they graduate

AND THEN IT SEEMS THAT THE DRYDOCKS WORKERS WERE THE ONLY CLASS OF WORKERS WASTING PUBLIC FUNDS !!!

Why not remove stipends for courses which are not really needed and increase the stipends for those courses needed by the country ?? Or else bind graduates to work in their profession in Malta for a number of years otherwise they would have to refund stipends ?

M. Buhagiar (on 30/9/08)

@ Loic..

Hm.....Government salary....well mine is Euro 738 a month after taxes are cut.....not to mention that I have a post grad qualification.....shouldnt we get a consistent payrise?? Truth is that with the Government you just have a rubbish job......and a rubbish salary.

Joseph Ellis (on 30/9/08)

I concede right away that I have a conflict of interest on this. However, may I add my humble opinion.

The whole tertiary sector needs a radical rethink. While the university is starved of resources as can be witnessed by such facilities as the library, millions are frittered away in stipends. I concede that there are students who need financial assistance but such assistance should be targeted to the really needy cases.

Perhaps the best manner to resolve this dispute is to refer it to industrial arbitration. Certainly, academic staff deserve a better salary package but there should not be automaticity in the performance bonus as this renders it ineffective. The bonus should be bolstered and given to those who really deserve it, not across the board. As it happens, deserving academics are being lumped with less deserving ones.

Whereas resources have been found to finance a 60m euro early retirement scheme for dockyard workers (on top of another 100 m euro debt incurred over 4 years), the country should not be stingy with those who form our intellectual capital.

Joseph E Briffa (on 30/9/08)

In no way can one compare the salaries of University academic staff to those of a Hospital consultant. Academics live a sheltered life, their job is cushy and not stressful unlike surgeons who have one of the highest stressful jobs in the world. Physicians also have to deal with human lives and therefore they are exposed to alot of stress. University academic staff on the other hand lead a relatively quiet and pleasant life in their milieu dealing with students who are keen on learning and going through the process of lecturing to a willing and receptive audience. Take a University lecturer in English or Italian Literature or Maltese literature for that matter; where is the stress? And don't these also do private tuition? As for Professors of Medicine or Surgery or Gynae etc, these are also consultants at the state hospital, and have their private practice. The same goes for Law and Architecture lecturers. And how many papers a year do University of Malta professors publish? I feel that the UOM claims are preposterous

Charles Micallef (on 30/9/08)

Do they think that money grows on trees? and are we really dealing with the cream of the country's intellectuals!

Wake up to reality of the present situation and stop trying to milk the sacred cow with the rest of them!

Claude Calleja (on 30/9/08)

What?! Give lecturers a pay rise from my heavily taxed pay cheque? Thanks but no thanks. Speaking as a recent graduate, the lecturers' services at University are appallingly base and fruitless. Lectures (when carried out) constantly have the approach of "Ejja ha mmorru. Igri u gerri". Their current pay cheque is pretty handsome in itself anyway.

Keith Borg-Micallef (on 30/9/08)

I always liked this government for his investment in Education. They want students to get the best. Thus, it’s for this reason, that the government should be more comprehensible with lecturers. Not doing as they want, but at least be more reasonable. The package offered is unfair; it will, after all, cover quite a span of time. Moreover, it's a blatant lie that they don't turn up for lectures and that they don’t give a hoot about students, as many seem so desperately wanting to make us believe. If they don’t give a lecture, which is usually because they need to go abroad to attend some conference on their subject, they give it at a later stage. The lecturers I had were fair, always gave their utmost and taught us what they had to teach us. Those students, who speak badly of lecturers, usually do that because of some sour grapes. I, as a student, have nothing to say about our lectures, but to praise them. (And I beg you, don’t say something pathetic now; like that I’ll get some favour by siding with them, as I’ve seen that under another story and, with all due respect, that’s childish.)

Keith Borg-Micallef (on 30/9/08)

@ C. Abela

You hit bull's eyes mate. Certain people still think that Educators (Professors, lecturers and so on) aren't as much needed as those positions you did mention. No such grumbling, (sometimes made just so to say something) was made in their regards. People must start understanding the fact that these people (Lecturers) are forming the people of tomorrow. Those who will eventually will be governing this island, thus many of your children and nephews. I'm sure you want the best for them. Well, to have really qualified people in the future, they must have had the best of people lecturing them.

People seem to agree that we need a state of the art University, but want that to happen miraculously. No input is to be made, according to them. It isn't the building that makes the University, but the lecturers and the students. Ours is quite a good Univ and that is thanks to our lecturers as well. But this is not appreciated as it should be.

Anthony Formosa (on 30/9/08)

And Then everyone thought the Drydock workers are the suckers of the country!!!!

Joe Boswell (on 30/9/08)

The salaries quoted hereunder are utterly disgraceful. Higher salaries do not automatically infer better lecturers and hence a higher standard of education! During my days at University I can only recall 2 out of 8 lecturers performing to a satisfactory level - a feeling shared by other colleagues. Lecturers have their share of stress to handle but this is comparable (probably less given the summer recess!) to that of other qualified persons working in industry.

J Micallef (on 30/9/08)

If the lecturers demand European salaries, the students demand European level lectures delivered by these lecturers and demand that at least these lectures do a minimum level of research every year. The lecturers should stop using lecture notes drafted over 20 years ago! They have ample time on their hand to update their lecture notes and do soome research rather than do prvate work.

P Debono (on 30/9/08)

Agree wholeheartedly with Manuel Ciappara.

In fact, some lecturers are actually there to HINDER students' progress, from my personal experience at University.

Loïc Le Brun (on 30/9/08)

Could someone please tell me what is the average wage in private companies and also for people working for the State. I nowhere can find this important information. In advance many thanks. Loïc

Borg (on 30/9/08)

Why not make them give up there other part time or FULL time jobs in order to gain these crazy salaries? At least they would maybe consider being available to students as part of their jobs ... and yes as regards to certain lecturers ... students may not even bother to go to their lectures, some turn up 30 minutes late leaving a 30 minute lecture regurgitated from a book.

E Grech (on 30/9/08)

Hefty pay rises should be justified and not be given automatically. Do you think that this country can afford this rise when the rest of the workers are given pittance in comparison?

B. Demanuele (on 30/9/08)

Ha!Ha!Haa..LOL. Judging by the salary scale above its Peanuts compare to what the same professions would earn in England and in Germany. Ah Well- think small and you'll get small.

J.Fenech (on 30/9/08)

Most probably, the rector is trying to invest in new systems and introducing new management style of faculties, and professors, who most probably are all 50+ are feeling the burden and pressure to deliver. Result? Give them more money to compensate for their "extra commitment" being requested by the rector. Well done UMASA and MUT for your "part" in getting your members to deliver and become accountable.
As Mr. John Borg well said ... are all professors, qualified? What is being linked with this deal? Will lecturers become more efficient? I don't think so ..... just money down the drain.

C. Abela (on 30/9/08)

I wonder whether ppl adding comments about these increases have made similar comments about the wage increases that gov. gave to consultants/doctors and nurses. Why is the lecturing staff considered differently? Maybe gov. thinks that it can do away without them? Maybe students having negative comments about lecturers don't need their services and think that they are better off if they stay at home in front of a pc and read books/notes? In which case, there will be no need for them to get a stipend anymore....no?
one last thing....the gov. is playing a dirty game here, if the payment increase issue is seen out of context then it may sound really high, I am curious to see what else has the gov. asked out of these lecturers, which restrictions has he imposed on them for their unions to request such increases. I don't think that UMASA and MUT are a crazy, irresponsible lot....think ppl...think

Manuel Ciappara (on 30/9/08)

Who needs lecturers anyway? You can find any content on the internet for free, from online universities and from books. Why are lecturers paid such money to simply regurgitate material which is mostly outdated and irrelevant? What a waste of money and what a waste of our talented students' time. I say bulldoze the university or convert it onto an old people's home and invest the money saved into a proper broadband infrastructure.

E Grech (on 30/9/08)

If the lecturers were to give lectures on time, not miss any lectures or devout their time as they should to their students than one may justify the pay rise. But sadly most don't. So until they do I as a citizen agree with the government in not giving them a pay rise.

C Chircop (on 30/9/08)

Let us look at the respective increases proposed. The increases proposed by the Government are those in brackets.

Assistant Lecturer: 38% (4.2%), Asst Lecturer (MA): 35.9%, (4.7%), Lecturer: 78.5% (3.68%), Senior Lecturer: 85.4% (3.83%), Associate Prof: 94.9% (8.44%), Prof: 83.26% (9.93%)

Perhaps, they need to realise that in industry such meteoric salary raises (proposed by Trade Unions) are inexistent! Nevermind the starting points (which, yes are unjustifiably low), it's a no go. And the Government is right in not accepting such increase in salaries.

While highly qualified and offering an important contribution to our society, most lecturers do not have the same pressures as industrial professionals. Fact.

A stratification of lecturers is important - ICT/Engineering lecturers are sacrificing notable opportunities in industry while other lecturers are happy to cling on where they are since they would struggle to find posts outside. Others may top up their salary with consultancy posts(medicine, law, architecture).

On the other hand, the Government should commit to invest a substantial amount in University facilities and research. There's no use increasing lecturers' salaries if the facilities are poor.

John Borg (on 30/9/08)

I should also mention that faculty in the US are evaluated by their students for every course they teach and that those evaluations are then used as a basis for reappointment, promotion and tenure. How about at least introducing this at the U of M for the sake of accountability?

John Borg (on 30/9/08)

I study at a university in the United States. An assistant professor at a public university in the U.S. (equivalent to a lecturer or senior lecturer in Malta) has a salary in the $50K range or Euro 35-43,000. The package requested by UMASA in comparison is Euro 48 -57,000 for 2009 and Euro 59-70,000 for 2014. Even if one takes into consideration the poor exchange rate of the Euro to the Dollar, the demands by quoted UMASA can only be described as preposterous. Not all university faculty cancel multiple classes during the semester and not all are able to have a second income through consultancy, private practice etc. but compared to the amount of work that faculty in the US and UK have to do besides teaching (advising, service, correcting multiple assignments, publishing pressure), faculty at the U of M have pretty sweet. There are individuals who were supposed to get a PhD 10 years ago and are still teaching with an MA; others who set up institutes and research centers simply to claim more benefits or to employ a friend; one professor used to show up in class with lecture notes that were written 20 years earlier...

M.Fenech (on 30/9/08)

Well done to the govt. for opening the discussion to the public in general. A private institution would surely have not been able to accommodate their needs .. so why take it against the govt?

Most probably, the govt. ommitted indirectly the extra perks and benefits, such profession brings over ... e.g. private consultancy, reimbursed travel to EU conferences, discounted deals with textbook suppliers, sponsorships, sabatical leave and so on, so forth.

Their services are indeed required by our society, but one needs to look into the whole present economic scenario before requesting astronomical figures! In no way, i am trying to downgrade their profession. But we need to be as realistic as possible and stop "bargaining for more" and sabotage the government all the time. Firstly, we need to improve our productivity, considerably, before embarking on new negotiations. Society demands that everyone is treated equally and with respect. Noone will take this deal unnoticed and eventual repercussions are defenitely expected, and in the pipeline on other industries and union controlled environments.

l Galea (on 30/9/08)

Good luck to them and may they get what they want, but how about increasing all the workers wages and salaries with the same ratio, namely an 80% increase?

J.Zammit (on 30/9/08)

I would be interested to see what are the productivity improvements associated with these salary increases. What performance indicators will the Government use to measure the performance of the University and its lecturers? How many papers are they expected to publish every year to maintain tenure at the university? This is money down the drain for a bunch of people who have been riding on the taxpayers back for ages. This is truly disgusting and shameful and the Government should be ashamed of itself to continue squandering tax payer money like this.

Karl Abela (on 30/9/08)

Then we wonder why the government has a deficit.....everyone wants money and us tax payers have no choice but to pay. Thanks to the governement for keeping a firm hand.

Andrew Sciberras (on 30/9/08)

Here we go again with the cowboy attitude. This reminds me of what was and is happening under the Bush administration in the USA where the federal government is always tough with the working and middle class and bows down to the fat cats - believing that money will somehow trickle down. One need only look at the mess the global economy is in to see if this is how things should be done.

If the unions' demands are unrealistic than a sensible government would aim to reach a sensible compromise before threatening an entire industry (incidentally one of the most important industries in the state) in such a manner. This is disrespectful to a society who only ask to have a much better education. It is a shame that government does not really care about seriously investing in a better education for all. Building quality schools is a step in the right direction but what about investing in quality service?

J Axiak (on 30/9/08)

If there will be any additions to their current one ... i hope that they put more effort than they did in previous years!! not all of them but there are some that they just dont care at all about students! If Staff deserve better ... Students deserve better too!

Noel Cutajar (on 30/9/08)

...and bind them to work full-time at the University.

Ramon Zammit (on 30/9/08)

These salaries are exorbitant already for our country!! In my opinion the trade union's request should be turned down. Why not increasing the student's miserable stipend instead? That would surely help! by the way I am not a student but a full time employee however I do know the frustration of having to work and study at the same time!

A Fabri (on 30/9/08)

Most of them actually need a paycut......what a shame for you unions.
Let it put it straight I see that time for unions these days is over and the only solution for their survival is to migrate to Africa and fight workers rights' there. Here now we have good legislation to favour workers rights .......Unions than never talk of OBLIGATIONS & DUTIES.

Govt. must propose extra bonuses based on productivity. simple as that.
Probably to add insult to injury lecturers in economy tell us that presently we are in a global financial crisis....who are the culprits than??

A Abela (on 30/9/08)

What sort of proposal is this ? Now treating employees with take it or leave it packages?
Do we want a first class university or a third world one?

Bertu Cassar (on 30/9/08)

Greedy !!!!! LM 2500+ per month. Get over yourselves.
If you really think that you can get more money elswhere why not just leave?

Adrian Sciberras (on 30/9/08)

i think the lecturers are thinking they are teaching in Luxembourg.

UPDATED: Government makes 'take it or leave it' offer to lecturers - unions disappointed

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