Teachers’ union suspends MCAST directives temporarily

The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) is suspending all directives affecting MCAST educators with effect from Tuesday 18 February until the end of the month.

In a statement on Friday, the MUT said there has been significant progress with the education ministry on a new collective agreement for educators at the college.

For this reason, the MUT is suspending all directives at MCAST. “This shall enable further negotiations to conclude the MCAST collective agreement,” the union said.

In a status update on Facebook, Education Minister Clifton Grima said he was happy to hear that the union suspended its directives. 

"This is the fruit of work without the fanfare. Throughout this work, it became clear that everyone around the table truly cares about the future of the educational community at MCAST," he said. "This is only the first step, as we must ensure that the agreement is concluded immediately for the benefit of educators, while also respecting the student life of our children."

The union and MCAST have been locked in negotiations over a new collective agreement for the past two years and nine months. The last collective agreement was signed in 2018 and expired in December 2021.

The collective agreement involves eight grades and includes lecturing grades, student support services grades, student mentors, and directors, LSEs, technicians grades, and senior research officers.

In November 2023, the MUT issued directives for MCAST lecturers but lifted them in January, claiming to have found a way forward. It again issued directives in May but felt secure enough to partially lift the directives in June.

The union declared a fresh trade dispute in September 2024.