NEWS | Wednesday, 17 December 2008

PRINT THIS ARTICLE

University lecturers to withhold exam results as government denounces industrial action

The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and the University of Malta Academic Staff Association (Umasa), yesterday directed the academic staff of the University and the Junior College to withhold all end of semester examination papers and not to collect scripts for marking where exams papers have already been submitted.
Lecturers were directed to boycott any boards or committees which they form part of and not to conduct any work on new courses introduced at the university. Umasa president Victor Buttigieg said the directives were indefinite.
The issue has been running since May 2007.
Umasa said the unions last sent their counter-proposals to the government two weeks ago and the government replied last week, asking the unions not to present the new government proposal to the union membership.
The industrial action was met with disapproval from education minister Dolores Cristina, who said the lecturers were making students their victims.
The actions concern stalled talks on a revision of the collective agreement with university lecturers.
Both Cristina and finance minister Tonio Fenech said the delay in the negotiation process was not the government’s fault.
The ministers said that in a meeting held on 9 December with the unions, Umasa had asked to re-open negotiations on the collective agreement after its member did not accept the financial package offered by government.
The ministers said that while they remained opened to renewed discussions, this was only possible if Umasa had a mandate from their members to negotiate and sign the new collective agreement.
Short of this mandate, the unions’ only recourse would be to refer the matter to the Industrial Tribunal, the ministers said, or re-open discussions on an entirely new financial package.

PRINT THIS ARTICLE

Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below.
Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.