University lecturers’ agreement signed after lengthy negotiations

A new collective agreement for lecturers at the University of Malta was signed in January 2009. Consensus was reached following lengthy negotiations due to disagreements over a number of issues, including the salary package for lecturers. The issues were eventually resolved, notwithstanding strike action and considerable tensions. The agreement forms part of a general effort to reform the university’s practices and improve its operations.

Unions compete for recognition

The last collective agreement of academic staff at the University of Malta (L-Università ta’ Malta) expired in 2003. The issue lay dormant for several years due to a dispute between the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and the University of Malta Academic Staff Association (UMASA) over which union enjoyed the majority of recognition. However, in 2007, the country’s Industrial Tribunal instructed the university to include UMASA in all industrial relations discussions with MUT (MT0701039I).

Conflict over salaries

Collective bargaining between the University of Malta and the two trade unions subsequently began in May 2007. The major issue of contention appeared to be the requested financial package, which the unions based on the benchmarking of lecturers’ salaries in Cyprus. In December 2007, in an unusual move described by the government as a gesture of goodwill, an interim wage increase was granted to the lecturers. However, a lack of satisfactory progress in the negotiations led the trade unions to engage in an industrial dispute in June 2008. As part of this dispute, lecturers were instructed not to submit assessment results, generating fears among final-year students that such actions would jeopardise their future employment and academic opportunities. Meanwhile, the government appointed a new negotiating team in a bid to resolve the impasse. At the end of June, the unions’ directives were lifted after the government promised to submit to the trade unions a counter proposal for a new remuneration package. Nevertheless, the gap between the package requested and that offered remained substantial. In a bid to sway public opinion, the government published the trade unions’ financial requests, which the unions alleged were inflated.

Strike action

On 1 October 2007, a one-day strike was staged, at which lecturers boycotted the ceremony marking the start of the university’s academic year. Subsequent intensive talks did not result in any significant developments. On 30 October, a government proposal for a new collective agreement was rejected by virtually all members of UMASA. Unlike MUT, UMASA’s statute specifies that any agreement must be approved by its members. UMASA members, among others, objected to the fact that the pay offer did not reflect the proposed employment conditions. However, the government insisted that no further negotiations would take place with the unions unless UMASA officials were given the mandate to negotiate, conclude and sign the collective agreement. The government also warned that the case risked being referred to the country’s Industrial Tribunal.

On 5 December, UMASA and MUT directed their members to resort to a work-to-rule. On 16 December, the directive was stepped up, with university lecturers being instructed not to participate in any university boards, meetings, committees or interviews. The lecturers were also told to withhold the end-of-semester exam papers and any results related to continuous assessment. This action sparked an angry reaction from the government, which accused the unions of victimising students. On 7 January 2009, the University Student’s Council held a rally calling on the two parties to reach a long-term solution without disrupting the students’ academic calendar.

Collective agreement finally reached

Following such developments, and with the mediation efforts of the director of Malta’s Department of Industrial and Employment Relations, the trade unions suspended their directives on the same day of the rally and finally, after three days of intensive discussions, a new collective agreement was drafted. This was approved by UMASA members during an extraordinary meeting held on 15 January.

The collective agreement was officially signed on 21 January and is valid for five years. The agreement was described by the trade unions and university authorities as an important part of the reform needed to address the organisation’s shortcomings and facilitate the pursuit of third-level education in Malta. Among its objectives, the agreement aims to increase the flexibility of the university by extending its opening time to 08.00 to 20.00. It also seeks to promote research by creating a new research stream and dealing with intellectual property rights. In addition, the agreement provides for salary increases and gives lecturers the option to choose whether to accept further obligations, including reduced leave and a commitment to give lectures after 17.00 against further increases in salary.

Manwel Debono, Centre for Labour Studies