The Union of Professional Educators (UPE) has noted the jubilation among several stakeholders in recent weeks over reports that an agreement has been reached at MCAST.

What is the truth?

The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) recently published a timeline for presenting the MCAST collective agreement. Under the published schedule, educators are required to pre-register by 28th April to attend potential viewings of the usual abbreviated PowerPoint presentation on 6th and 7th May.

Additionally, the UPE observes that no remote participation options have been announced for these meetings. This could pose challenges for educators facing workload conflicts or logistical barriers to in-person attendance.

Access to review the actual collective agreement is currently restricted to physical visits to the MUT’s offices, similarly to what happened last year with the ‘secretive’ sectoral agreement.

The UPE has reiterated its longstanding call for full disclosure of negotiation documents, including drafts and correspondence, to ensure educators are fully informed. It also advocates for a voting process that guarantees transparency, particularly given concerns raised by some stakeholders about potential risks associated with online voting systems.

The truth is, to date, no formal vote has been held to ratify the MCAST agreement. While press releases have suggested agreement in negotiations, the UPE stresses that final approval of the actual text by educators remains pending.