MUT declares new trade dispute over delayed ITS collective agreement

The Malta Union of Teachers has declared a new trade dispute with the government, this time over the three-year delay in concluding the collective agreement for the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS).

In a press statement on Saturday, the MUT said its members at the tourism school are feeling abandoned by the government after negotiations on a new MCAST agreement fell through this week.

The union explained that negotiations at MCAST and at ITS normally proceed in parallel to each other due to the vocation stream and the similarities of the two institutions.

“The decision of the government to halt negotiations and to repeatedly attack the MUT impacted ITS grades and students alike,” the statement said.

The ITS collective agreement has been stuck in limbo for three years, since the previous agreement expires. The MUT said negotiations have been ongoing ever since.

“All affected grades are being held hostage by the government, which chose confrontation instead of social dialogue with the MUT. ITS members are rightly feeling abandoned by the government and are seeing the prospective deadline to close their agreement shifting further away through the government’s actions.”

This new trade dispute comes amid growing tensions between the government and the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) regarding ongoing industrial action at MCAST. The union’s directives have led to widespread disruption across MCAST campuses as faculties restricted communication with both management and students to prescribed hours.

Meanwhile assignment grades and briefs for the next academic year remain unprocessed, leaving students unable to progress with their studies.

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