Breakthrough Deal Reached for MCAST Educators After Year-Long Standoff
The government has successfully concluded negotiations with the Malta Teachers’ Union (MUT) on a new collective agreement for MCAST educators, marking the end of a highly tense period that deeply affected both teachers and students within the institution.
“The discussions weren’t always easy, but I’m proud that once again it will be this government that strengthens the conditions of even more teachers and academics—those who are the driving force behind our children’s development and, in turn, the wellbeing of the Maltese people,” Prime Minister Robert Abela wrote on social media.
This agreement will be presented to affected MCAST members in the coming days who will take a vote.
This breakthrough comes after over a year of deadlock between the Education Ministry and the MUT.
Educators at MCAST had been calling for a new collective agreement to improve their working conditions, pay structures, and recognition of their academic roles. The lack of progress led to several directives and industrial actions, which culminated in cancelled exams, the suspension of thesis guidance and assessment grading among other disruptions – prompting widespread frustration among students who felt caught in the middle of a bureaucratic tug-of-war.
Students responded to this extended period of uncertainty through protests, petitions and even statements in parliament.
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