The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) this morning reiterated its no confidence in the leadership of the CMTU and said no threat of suspension from the confederation would make it go silent.

Reacting to a statement issued yesterday by the CMTU, which threatened the union with suspension, the teachers’ union observed that the CMTU had gone ahead with a meeting to discuss its (the MUT’s) actions even though the MUT officials could not be present because of other pressing commitments.

In that ‘infamous’ meeting, the CMTU council was prosecutor, judge and jury and condemned the MUT without having the decency to hear it out, the union said.

This, it said, was undemocratic. It violated the CMTU statute and shamed those who attended.

It appeared, the MUT said, that the CMTU was not pleased that one of its affiliates had said it wanted to continue the process so that Malta could, one day, have a Trades Union Council, a process which was supposed to have started three years ago when ETUC General Secretary John Monks visited Malta and the unions committed themselves to that process.

Neither could the CMTU tolerate the fact that the MUT, along with other unions, asked the government to clarify two points in the government document on the utility tariffs. It only wanted the MUT to toe the line and accept everything.

The MUT said that as a serious and democratic union it could not accept that the CMTU acted on an ad hoc and arbitrary basis. It had always put the workers’ welfare at the top of its agenda and no threat of suspension would close its mouth, the MUT said.