The MUT Council has said that it is seriously concerned that notwithstanding a Conciliatory Meeting held at the Office of the Director of Labour to try and solve the impasse between the Institute of Tourism Studies and the Malta Union of Teachers, nothing has, so far materialized.
During a very cordial meeting held at the office of the Director of Labour, MUT Officials and ITS agreed on all the points under discussion. Both sides thought that finally an agreement had been reached.
However , contrary to all expectations, MUT was verbally informed by high officials from the Education Ministry that the Ministry of Education had rejected the agreement reached between the two sides during the meeting held at the Director of Labour.
The MUT Council now queries whether from now on, Trade Unions in Malta should resort to conciliatory meetings with the Director of Labour in order to attempt to solve any differences with Employers, particularly where and when the Government is involved. The concerted effort of the Director of Labour, well-meaning Trade Unions and collaborative management risk to receive a veto right at the final stage.
This unprecedented situation has created serious concern and the MUT Council will be meeting shortly to discuss what actions are to be taken to protect the interests of its members. A meeting for all ITS Academic members of Staff will be held shortly.
The MUT would like to thank ITS management for their full cooperation in finding a workable solution to the impasse. This, unfortunately has been disregarded by higher authorities at the expense of registering a solution and ultimately concluding the collective agreement