Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1514108
7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 JANUARY 2024 NICOLE MEILAK nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt church.mt ST HELEN'S PARISH CHURCH, BIRKIRKARA INVITATION TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS The Administrative Secretary of the Archdiocese of Malta will receive proposals for the supply and installation of new exterior lighting for St Helen's Parish Church, Birkirkara, including the design and building of the replica paving elements, with the required cut-outs to seamlessly fit the proposed luminaires on the parvis. Interested parties may submit requests for the tender documents and further information by sending an email to birkirkara.se.tender@maltadiocese.org by not later than 25th January at 11:00hrs. Submissions should be made in person at the Archbishop's Curia, St Calcedonius Square, Floriana, Malta, Mondays to Fridays between 08:00hrs and 17:00hrs, in a sealed envelope clearly marked 'Birkirkara Tender', by not later than Wednesday 31st January 2024 at 11:00hrs. A tender box will be provided for this purpose. Only proposals received through this tender box will be considered. The bidders will be informed in writing in due course whether their proposal was selected or not. The right is reserved to refuse any proposal, even the most advantageous one. Late submissions will not be considered. PILOTS and nurses increased their union membership in a year dominated by Air Malta's restructuring and collective agreement negotiations. According to the annual trade union report, covering the peri- od between July 2022 and June 2023, the Airline Pilots Asso- ciation Malta (ALPA) saw its membership increase by 67%. This increase came at a time when Air Malta pilots were presented with a non-nego- tiable employment package as part of reforms at the national airline. In June last year, the union issued directives advising its members to work-to-rule. This is a form of industrial action under which employees adhere strictly to their minimum re- quired contractual obligations but do absolutely nothing more. However, in April 2023, Air Malta hired more pilots and cabin crew after laying off a sig- nificant number of employees – excluding pilots – during a company restructuring in 2022. Other aviation unions saw considerable increases in un- ion membership. These in- clude the Association of Air- line Engineers (AAE) with a 28% increase, and the Malta Air Traffic Controllers Asso- ciation (MATCA), with an 8% increase. The AAE represents engineers employed with Air Malta and Lufthansa Teknik. MATCA represents Maltese air traffic controllers. Meanwhile, the Malta Un- ion of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) saw its membership increase to 5,0005 workers, up from 4,714 the year prior. The covering period was a busy time for the union, which saw its members go on strike and negotiate a new sectoral agree- ment. In March 2023, 4,000 nurses and midwives went on strike across all local hospitals. Nurs- es at Mater Dei's out-patients department were instructed not to answer any phone calls or take messages from clerks. At Gozo General Hospital, nurses were ordered to stop washing patients, except in the ITU/CCU. Nurses embarked on the in- dustrial action after a break- down in talks over a new pay agreement. Eventually, the government's final offer was rejected by the union. Talks then resumed with the Health Ministry and most of the proposals put forward by the union were eventually ac- cepted. In August that year, nurses approved their pay agreement with 87% of MUMN members voting in favour. Under the agreement, nurses in all grades would receive a management allowance and extra hours worked would be compensated at overtime rates. Another union with a mem- bership surge last year was the Malta Union of Tourist Guides (MUTG), which increased its membership by 87%. The union has been around since 1980, representing licensed guides operating in Malta. Unions representing the dis- ciplined forces also saw in- creased membership between 2022 and 2023. Most nota- bly, the Civil Protection Un- ion (CPU) almost doubled its membership from 95 members to 183 in the reporting year. There was also a 24% increase in members of the Malta Police Union, which sealed a new sec- toral agreement last October together with the Police Of- ficers Union within the Gener- al Workers Union. Other notable membership increases include the Malta As- sociation for the Counselling Profession, at 11%, and the Un- ion Periti u Inginiera tas-Settur Pubbliku with a 9% increase. Educators' two unions Among educators, the Malta Union of Teachers remains a dominant union with 10,201 members, albeit a marginal year-on-year increase of 0.2%. Meanwhile, the rival Union of Professional Educators in- creased its membership by 2% to 3,124 members. There is an unusual gender gap between the two unions. With the majority of teaching personnel in Malta being wom- en, the larger part of MUT's members are in fact women. Indeed, from its over 10,000 members, 75% are women. However, within the UPE, an overwhelming 96% of its mem- bers are men. Overall, there was a gener- al increase in union member- ship of 1,339 workers between 2022 and 2023. Only seven un- ions experienced a decrease in membership. These were the Malta Union of Bank Employ- ees (-10%), the Malta Chamber of Pharmacists (-6%), the Un- ion of Cabin Crew (-8%), Un- ion Ħaddiema Bank Ċentrali (-11%), University of Malta Ac- ademic Staff Association (-3%), Union Technical and Clerical MEPA (-14%), and Union of MTA Employees (-6%). The two largest unions were the General Workers' Un- ion and the Union Ħaddiema Maghqudin with 53,503 and 26,457 members respectively. Both are general trade unions representing workers in sever- al sectors. Pilots, nursing unions increase membership in tumultuous year Pilots and nurses increased their union membership in 2023