The MUT has issued directives that will be effective on Monday the 13th of May 2024, similar to those issued in January.

The MUT has fired a barrage of directives that many lecturers are worried about, as they are aware that the MUT will backtrack in the coming weeks, resulting in the postponement of this work (withholding and publishing of marks) for the upcoming summer months.

“…many lecturers are worried about, as they are aware that the MUT will backtrack in the coming weeks, resulting in the postponement of this work…”

These directives are seen as an overkill, and in actual fact will most probably derail negotiations.

In real terms, with pressure mounting on the MUT, it is clear that the Union is being pressured by many academics (as can be seen in its Facebook group) due to a lack of transparency coming from the MUT, which is supposed to be negotiating on their behalf.

Academics seem to have waited long enough for the conclusion of such an agreement, as it expired back in December 2022.

This means that academics haven’t experienced any progression for approximately the past year and a half.

The UPE predicts that it is very unlikely that an agreement will be reached before the 8th of June, MEP Election.

If an agreement is miraculously reached before the mentioned date, one expects that not enough time would have been given to the negotiating parties to go over the text and financials, considering that the MUT received the first financial reaction from MCAST on the 19th of April.

It is predicted that the MUT directives will only last a couple of weeks, as the MUT would risk falling into a legal conundrum with MCAST possibly opening a Mandate of Prohibitory Injunction, since its directives aiming to stop the publication of exam/assignment marks will potentially create an irreversible situation for students’ progression.

“It is predicted that the MUT directives will only last a couple of weeks, as the MUT would risk falling into a legal conundrum with MCAST…”

The UPE agrees that an agreement should be concluded as soon as possible, but one must blame both negotiating parties who have remained on the fence and ignored the pleas of academics working at MCAST.