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MT 21 June 2017

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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 21 JUNE 2017 5 JURGEN BALZAN FOR the first time in 12 years, the president of Malta's oldest trade union, which represents the teaching profession, will be decided by a vote among the 9,000 members tomorrow. However, the run-off be- tween outgoing senior vice- president Marco Bonnici and general secretary Franklin Barbara has turned out to be an acrimonious affair with the election postponed by two months after the union's electoral board resigned en bloc as the two candidates ac- cused each other of hijacking the electoral process. To ensure a fair process, the Malta Union of Teach- ers (MUT) hired the services of professional auditors to restart the election process from scratch. The election was called after Kevin Bonello, at the helm of the MUT since 2011, unex- pectedly resigned. Barbara, who became a bit of an internet sensation af- ter blitzing Facebook with badly-photoshopped images, ha accused Bonello and the outgoing administration of favouring Bonnici. He also filed a judicial pro- cess in court to ensure that the electoral process be truly transparent and fair for all candidates. In turn, Bonnici accused Barbara of instructing board members to throw the Ad- ministrative Secretary of the Union out of a meeting "against every established procedure." Barbara had re- futed these claims as the re- lationship between the two candidates all but disinte- grated. Both Bonnici and Barbara are promising to renegotiate the collective agreement and reform the union. Bonnici, 41, has promised to conclude negotiations on all collective agreements with- in six-months and improve wages and conditions for all teachers. He has also pro- posed the creation of a foun- dation which would focus exclusively on the educational aspect. On his part, Barbara - a so- ciology and PSD teacher – has promised to make the teach- ing profession attractive again and empower teachers. News New plans submitted for abandoned hotel in Mellieha JAMES DEBONO NEW plans have been submit- ted on 12 May for the demo- lition of an abandoned hotel known as the Festival Hotel in Mellieha, located in the Sdieri area between the red tower and the boathouses in Mellieha. The building is presently aban- doned and has been filled with graffiti murals. The area where the development has been pro- posed lies in a buffer zone for an Area of Ecological Importance. The application presented by Chris Mizzi was first presented in 1996 but has been dormant till new plans were submitted in May. A previous application to refurbish the hotel presented by AX Holdings in 1993 had been withdrawn. The latest plans foresee a 1,600 square-metre spa and hydrother- apy centre, twelve 65sq.m apart- ments with pools, a 260sq.m re- ception area, a 960sq.m physical rehabilitation centre, a 130sq.m bar, a 755sq.m conference room, a 621 m2 restaurant, a 115sq.m cuisine class and a 115sq.m li- brary. The North West Local Plan which regulates development in the area states that the re-devel- opment of existing tourist ac- commodation facilities in rural areas, will only be considered in very exceptional cases where the new proposal is for a hotel which has very high design quality and considerably improves the rural or coastal landscape. But "even in such rare cases, the increase in the number of beds or the intensification of the ex- isting uses will not normally be favourably considered". Teachers to vote for new union boss tomorrow Bitter rivals: Marco Bonnici and Franklin Barbara

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