The Malta Union of Teachers would like to answer the complete distortion and misrepresentation of facts perpetrated by Mark Azzopardi in his letter MUT Losing Credibility (February 23).
The manifestation referred to in this letter is organised by the Għaqda Unions Maltin (GħUM). The GħUM is made up of the GWU and FOR.UM which in turn is made up of 11 unions, including the MUT. The MUT was also instrumental in the founding of the Għaqda Unions Maltin. All other trade unions and confederations have an open invitation to join, however these organisations have to date declined the invite, citing their belief in competition between trade unions. It is perfectly natural for the MUT to inform its members about the activities of the GħUM and FOR.UM since it has an active role and voice in both organisations.
The decision to organise this manifestation was taken by a unanimous vote in both organisations. The GħUM invited all other trade unions and civil society organisations - including political parties - to the manifestation.
Turning to the education sector, Mr Azzopardi asked "Why is the MUT choosing confrontation instead of dialogue like other serious and credible unions are doing?" The MUT always keeps its door open for negotiations and discussions. Discerning readers will certainly understand that such discussions may reach sterile and unproductive stages that lead the way for industrial disputes. Serious and credible unions may in such circumstances resort to industrial action not only as a matter of legal right but also out of duty to their workers. Serious and credible unions cannot shirk their onerous responsibilities and simply bide their time waiting for some miraculous intervention!
The MUT maintains that education in Malta has reached a critical stage. The union's representations - dating back to the latter half of 2007 - on anomalies in teaching grades' allowances have fallen on deaf ears. Almost three years down the line the authorities still deny there is any anomaly although they admit that the working load of these grades has been increasing ever since!
To make matters worse, the MUT is expected to embrace reform after reform in the absence of adequate human resource support and financial compensation. In such circumstances, a serious and credible union will mince no words and will not fear to define the situation by its proper term: sheer exploitation. A serious and credible union will then justifiably resort to legitimate action to rectify such injustice. This is exactly what the MUT is doing.