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Since its foundation in 1919 the Malta Union of Teachers
has grown both in its stature as an organization at the national
level and in its membership strength. The Union started with
just over 600 members and today the MUT is over 6000 strong,
representing all grades of teachers in the public and private
sectors from Kindergarten to University. Over the years the
MUT developed its dual role of a strong and effective trade
union and an experienced professional educational organization.
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.
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MUT Presidents
Joseph Giordano: 1919-1920;1925-1926
Rogantino Cachia: 1920-1921; 1922-1924;
1927-1936
Nazzareno Pisani: 1937
Anthony Cachia: 1938-1942
Francis X. Mangion: 1943-1946
Emanuel Tonna: 1947-1948
Alfred Buhagiar: 1949-1962
Evarist Saliba: 1962-1963
Abel Giglio: 1963-1974
Alfred J. Buhagiar: 1974-1996
John M. Bencini: 1996-
MUT Full-Time General Secretaries
Victor deDomenico: 1950-1951
Francis Fenech: 1951-1953
Joseph Madiona: 1954-1956
Joseph Wismayer: 1956-1959
Alfred Baldacchino: 1959-1960
Alphonse M. Farrugia: 1961-1991
Joseph Degiovanni: 1991-2007
Franklin Barbara: 2007 -
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