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

Government offer

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.