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Agreement finally reached,
but at what cost?
After months of haggling, disagreements and industrial action,
the government and the Malta Union of Teachers have finally
reached an agreement.
Last Wednesday the government and the MUT signed the collective
agreement and addendum that will provide for new initiatives
in the field of education which will ensure more training and
professional development. The agreement will be of benefit to
both teachers and students.
The agreement refers to the national minimum curriculum and
the two parties agreed that its implementation will be spread
in various stages; these will be implemented following consultation
with the MUT.
While both the government and the union should be applauded
for finally reaching an agreement on such an important issue,
it is also a cause of worry for the taxpayer.
During the press conference held to announce the agreement,
the Minister of Education, Dr Louis Galea, would not divulge
details of how much the new agreement will cost the taxpayer.
Despite being pressed by all the media present, all Dr Galea
would say was that it was too early to give the figures, although
he did admit that the figure was substantial.
Dr Galea said these were still being calculated at the finance
level. “At this stage we cannot say what the agreement
will cost.”
This is ridiculous. How can the government sit down with a Union
and sign an agreement when it does not know how much it is going
to cost the taxpayer? The government is duty-bound to inform
the public of any expenditure that, at the end of the day, is
coming directly from the taxpayer’s pocket. Yet, Dr Galea,
despite being pressured to come up with a figure, simply evaded
any questions.
In a statement carried in The Malta Independent on Tuesday,
the Minister’s Communications Coordinator, Claude Sciberras,
said the minister had been misinterpreted and it was not true
that the government entered an agreement without having the
necessary costing. Mr Sciberras went on to say, “The minister,
as rightly reported in other sections of the press, stated that
he is not in a position to divulge, at this stage, the amounts
involved”.
The government in the last budget made it very clear that it
was going to increase its revenues through better enforcement
and tax collection while cutting down on public expenditure.
Now, Dr Galea has told us that the final price of the agreement
with the MUT is not available.
Therefore, given that Mr Sciberras is right, could the minister
tell us why he was not in a position to divulge the figure?
If he is not in a position to say how much, is it because in
reality he has no idea how much the new agreement will cost?
If, on the other hand he knows the figure, why not inform the
press? What is wrong with telling the public how much they are
going to have to pay in taxes to support such an agreement?
In all fairness, the MUT were right in asking for better conditions.
The previous collective agreement left much to be desired. Last
year, the president of the MUT, John Bencini, had told The Malta
Independent on Sunday in an interview that one reason why the
agreement was put on hold was because the government was unwilling
to make any changes if they cost money. At the time we had asked:
since when do the powers that be decide that the education of
this and present generations of children can be “neglected”
because improving certain deficiencies will cost money?
This time around, we are now asking the government to tell us
how much this new agreement is going to cost. First it was unwilling
to spend money on much needed improvements for teachers, and
now, after finding a solution and, presumably the cash, Dr Galea
is refusing to say how much it will cost.
The government, Dr Galea said, is investing in education through
human resources and added that in the budget the government
had committed itself to spend Lm60 million over eight years.
Well done, and The Malta Business Weekly feels that this figure
should also increase especially with regards to improving IT
facilities in schools. In the government’s estimates for
this year, Lm29.1 million have been allocated to the Department
of Education. Does the figure cover the new agreement? Did the
government calculate the cost of the collective agreement in
its estimates? If not, then where is this money going to come
from?
Little else has been said about the collective agreement. The
MUT is more than happy. It has received what it asked for. On
the other hand, the government has settled any disputes it had
with the MUT. On the whole, both parties have gained. The only
party that has lost out is the taxpayer.
Somehow, this is not surprising.
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