University academics ashamed of salaries

The finance and education ministers will be meeting the unions representing academics later this week in a bid to break the deadlock over the financial package, sources said yesterday.

The date of the meeting will be scheduled with the Malta Union of Teachers and the University of Malta Academic Staff Association (Umasa) once Finance Minister Tonio Fenech, who is abroad, returns to Malta today.

Meanwhile, the general sentiment echoed by academics on campus yesterday was that their financial packet was "shameful" and "demeaning", especially when compared to their European counterparts.

Ġorġ Mallia, a negotiator in the previous collective agreement, said academics' work was not just of a local nature but international.

In his frequent interaction with foreign academics, he would be invariably ashamed to reveal details of his pay packet, lest his foreign colleagues assumed he was truly being paid what he was worth.

"The government cannot insist on treating lectures like hearse drivers but like doctors. The government cannot handle this dispute the way it would handle any other industrial action," Dr Mallia said.

"What the government did (referring to the way it publicised the demands made by the academic unions) was unjust," he said, adding that academics were extremely unhappy with the move.

He said this "indicated how much the government does not realise the importance of academics".

The government had found it convenient to feed the layman's negative perception of academics and lecturers. But, reacting to comments posted by readers on timesofmalta.com, he did admit that "there are academics that should pull their weight more". This, however, did not mean they were in the majority. This minority, Dr Mallia insisted, tended to give academics a bad reputation.

Dr Mallia understood that Malta was going through a bad patch financially: "We should certainly reach a compromise but not accept what the government is offering, because it is chickenfeed compared to the wages earned by academics at foreign universities".

The government would do well to keep in mind that academics had no problem finding jobs abroad. Malta had already experienced a brain drain in the 1908s due to the way the authorities at the time had handled academics.

"The last thing anyone would want is to witness a similar situation," he added.

Mario Buhagiar, head of the history of art programme, also felt academic staff were not getting a fair deal for the service they were giving.

"Considering the input we give, such as the preparation for lectures and training the future leaders of the country, I think we deserve better," he said.

"We're slipping into a glorified sixth form; that's my feeling," he observed, referring to the University.

"The insistence in any self-respecting University should be research. Teaching, of course, is important but research is the most important element," he said.

He fully agreed with the demands made by the unions, adding that he felt this was a widespread sentiment among the academic body: "I think we are the most underpaid academics in the EU".

Prof. Buhagiar also warned of a brain drain as the younger crop of academics sought new pastures elsewhere.

Taking a more general view of the dispute, Lydia Sciriha said the pay University academics had simply reflected the little respect they enjoyed, particularly professors.

The teaching function of the University was only one aspect of academic duties, she said, adding that the research and publication aspect of professors' duties was not being recognised enough.

"Given that salaries are so low, especially when compared to EU countries such as Cyprus, the government must be seeing the University merely as a school and not the highest institution of learning," Prof. Sciriha said.

Meanwhile, the General Workers' Union yesterday expressed solidarity with the academics' representative unions MUT and Umasa, condemning the government's behaviour.

It appealed to the government to find a just solution.