The spat between the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and the Confederation of Malta Trade Union (CMTU) has intensified as two other unions yesterday expressed solidarity with the teachers' union.

The University Academic Staff Union Association (Umasa) and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, which, like the MUT, is a CMTU affiliate, extended their support as the teachers' union reiterated lack of confidence in the CMTU leadership under William Portelli.

It comes in the wake of a dispute between the MUT and the CMTU over the former's idea to set up a Trades Union Council.

Tit-for-tat exchanges in the media have led the CMTU to call on MUT to be diplomatic and respect the confederation's statute with the latter declaring it had no confidence in the way the CMTU was being led. The teacher's union stopped short of calling for Mr Portelli's resignation.

The MUT said no threats of suspension from the confederation will shut it up because its first priority was safeguarding the interests of workers and pensioners.

On Monday, the confederation threatened to suspend the teachers' union from its membership as of tomorrow unless it changes its attitude towards the confederation and its leaders.

The decision was taken during a meeting on Monday, which the MUT did not attend because it had a meeting of its own council to discuss the water and electricity tariffs.

This situation erupted when the MUT took offence to a comment made by Mr Portelli who said the union's proposal to form a TUC was "untimely".

The rift between both sides heightened when the confederation declared publicly it approved the latest electricity rates, with the MUT saying it had reservations over the tariffs and was therefore annoyed that the confederation had made a favourable public declaration.

MUT president John Bencini, who had served as CMTU president for just over a year before stepping down in 2006, said the union did not believe that 73 per cent of households would benefit from the eco-reduction on their electricity bill.

The government's figures included about 28,000 households, which use about 370 units of electricity a year and which were probably owned by people who live abroad or are holiday homes, he said.

Mr Bencini argued that the union's computations showed that single- and two-person households would be worse off. Moreover, the authorities had set the new rates on the pretext that oil prices did not go up.

"We need to clarify some things before agreeing to the new rates," he insisted.

The MUT said the confederation had "conveniently" ignored the fact that it could not attend Monday's meeting and still went ahead with it. It accused the confederation of having issued a statement full of "uncertainties and half-truths" after the meeting.

"In this infamous meeting, the CMTU acted as prosecutor, judge and jury and condemned the MUT without having the decency to listen to it," the union said, referring to the confederation's ultimatum.

The MUT accused the confederation of undemocratic activity, which breaches its own statute. In a counter-statement, the CMTU reaffirmed its position of suspending the MUT if it did not change its attitude by tomorrow.

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