Administrator:

Frank N. Mallia

Email:

webmaster@mut.org.mt

Last Update:
Wednesday 26/02 10.45

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The Beginning

The MUT owes its origin to the developments following the 7th June 1919 riots which were sparked by the misery in which the Maltese workers were living at the time. In an effort to calm the situation a Commission was set up specifically to review the salaries of government employees. In its report, which was published on November 5 1919, the Commission recommended salary increases for all categories of workers except teachers. Suffice it to say that during the first two decades of the 20th century, the standards of education and the condition of work of Maltese teachers were in a pathetic state.

Against the backdrop of this reality a young 29 year-old teacher, Antonio Galea from Valletta, took the initiative and called all teachers in Malta to unite and fight for their rights. Over 500 teachers from various towns and villages around Malta responded to Antonio Galea's call and converged on the Floriana Primary School for a special foundation meeting held on November 22, 1919. The meeting was addressed by two of Antonio Galea's staunchest supporters, Joseph Giordano and Rogantino Cachia who were elected as the MUT's first President and first Secretary respectively. Antonio Galea became the Union's Organizer. Subsequent to this meeting the MUT became the first registered trade union in Malta.

Conscious of its moral obligations the MUT has, since its origin, realized the need to strike a balance between its member's rights and their responsibilities. This explains why the MUT took up a dual role, namely that of a trade union and a professional organization.

Trade Unionistic Role

The MUT's role as a trade-union and its successes in this field need hardly be stressed. Teachers know that they can rely on their union when it comes to negotiations on salaries and conditions of work. In fact, the MUT managed to obtain salary increases for teachers in 1947, 1953, 1955, 1959 and 1962. In the late 60's the MUT scored another success in its representations with the Salaries Anomalies Commission. In 1974 the MUT negotiated another Reorganization Agreement but the Union's greatest achievement was registered in 1988 through the enactment of the Education Act by which teaching was given official recognition as a profession. This was followed by an agreement with the government which translated this recognition into tangible terms. More recently teachers consolidated their position through a Public Service Reform agreement signed in August 1994. This was followed by an Addendum to the Classification and Grading Agreement of the Education Class signed in February 2001.

Professional Body

The MUT's role as a professional organization, particularly its interest in the professional development of teachers, was evident from the early years of the Union's life. In fact, this was clearly one of the first items on the MUT's agenda and as far back as the early 20's the MUT highlighted the inadequacies of the training school for teachers of the time and submitted proposals regarding the need of a Chair of Pedagogy at the University of Malta. However, it was only after the war that two well organized training colleges were set up. Eventually these two colleges merged into one Institute and were transferred to the University of Malta under the Faculty of Education in the early 80's.

In an attempt to highlight, discuss and propose solutions to the problems facing the various sectors of our educational system the MUT has, over the years, organized various seminars, fora and conferences on educational issues. The MUT also regularly publishes its views on particular aspects of topical interest in education.

The MUT's official journal - The Teacher

The vision of the founder members of the MUT was clearly that of establishing a union organized on a professional basis. In fact, one of the first initiatives was that of establishing a strong link with the general membership through the publication of a magazine "The Teacher" which was first published in March 1920. This magazine is now effectively the oldest trade-unionistic publication in Malta and through it, educators have been kept abreast of developments in education and made aware of the challenges that the teaching profession has had to face over the years. Today, the magazine is one of the most consistently regular publications of its kind with a choice of articles dealing with trade union, educational and cultural matters.

International Affiliations

• Education International, EI - The Malta Union of Teachers is a member of the EI, established on 26th January 1993 as an amalgation of the WCOTP, the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession, and the IFFTU, the International Federation of Free Teachers Unions.

  The declared aims of the EI include furthering the cause of organizations of teachers and education employees, promoting their status, interests and welfare, and defending their trade union and professional rights.

  Moreover, the EI plays a key role in coordinating vocational and professional development projects in the thirld world countries and in Eastern and Central Europe. Because of the urgent need for such projects and because of the limited resources, it is of vital importance that the projects support each other rather than duplicate the efforts.

  The EI organization is divided into 5 regions: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, North America with the Caribbean and Europe. The European region, of which the Malta Union of Teachers is a member, is named EIE, the Education International Europe.

• European Trade Union Committee for Education, ETUCE - The Malta Union of Teachers is a member of the ETUCE which was established in 1981 in Brussels as a trade secretariat of the teachers organizations under the European Trade Union Committee, or the ETUC.

  The ETUC represents almost 3 million teachers in Europe and has the right to see members of the EU institutions and the Council of Europe.

  EIE and ETUCE have common interests and therefore continuous cooperation is necessary to avoid duplication of activities.

Tel: +356 21237815
Tel: +356 21222663
Fax:+356 21244074

Email: info@mut.org.mt

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President

Email:

president@mut.org.mt

Mobile:

+356 99458134

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Vice President

Email:

svpresident@mut.org.mt

Mobile:

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General Sec

Email:

gensec@mut.org.mt

Mobile:

+356 99488368

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Office Hours:

08:30 - 13:00

14.15 - 17.30

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