Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1527317
4 NEWS 4 JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 2 OCTOBER 2024 LECTURERS at the Malta Col- lege for Arts, Science and Tech- nology (MCAST) held a pro- test outside the administration building of the college in Paola as negotiations on their collec- tive agreement stalled. The protest was called by the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) last week, where they appealed to the college to review its po- sition on the union's demands. The new collective agree- ment which includes Lecturing grades, Student Support Ser- vices grades, Student Mentors, Directors, Deputy Directors, Technicians grades, Learning Support Educators, and Senior Research Officers, has been in the works for the past two years and nine months. During the protest, held out- side the MCAST administra- tion building, educators held up posters and placards with mes- sages such as 'MCAST Hates Its Own Educators', 'MCAST: Poor Management Through Tyr- anny', and 'Stop Stalling, Start Acting'. Ahead of the protest, MCAST cancelled the opening ceremony of the new academic year, which MUT viewed as a consequence of their protest. MUT President Marco Bonni- ci criticised MCAST's decision, stating, "Surely the opening ceremony would not look good with a protest outside the ad- ministration doors. It doesn't go that the attention falls on the union's protest and not on them!" The union said negotiations with MCAST deteriorated, lead- ing the union to declare a trade dispute and issue a fresh set of industrial action directives. The new directives will come into force next week. "The newly appointed prin- cipal of the college is the only principal which the MUT ex- pressed distrust in in his first month on the job," said Bonnici, adding that, "this principal has been involved with MCAST for 20 years, yet has failed to nego- tiate with the MUT, as well as attend any negotiation meet- ings with the union and govern- ment." In September, former MCAST deputy principal Stephen Vella was appointed as Principal and CEO, following the resigna- tion of former CEO Prof. James Calleja. "This shows what a grave situ- ation this is; the new leadership at MCAST only cares about appearances," Bonnici said, re- ferring to the emails sent from the principal to the union where he threatened to sue the union if they didn't agree with arbitra- tion. Bonnici challenged the Princi- pal to proceed with legal action and said the MUT will not ne- gotiate with him, but rather di- rectly with government. He stat- ed that the MUT did everything that was asked for, including issuing a finalised document of proposals for the new collective agreement. "It is so unusual that the last academic year ended with union directives and a new one open- ing with fresh directives," Bon- nici said. MUT to step up directives as dispute with MCAST persists The Malta Union of Teachers holds protest for MCAST lecturers, announces it will step up directives from next week as collective agreement talks stall JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt THE Corinthia Group has ap- plied to add two additional storeys to the Marina Hotel in Saint George's Bay. The hotel is located opposite the former Institute of Tour- ism Studies, which is now ear- marked for the DB Group's project, set to include two 17-storey towers and a 12-sto- rey hotel. Corinthia's proposed two-storey addition, above the existing seven floors, is expect- ed to increase the number of rooms from the current 200 to 302, bringing the total number of floors to nine. However, the development falls significantly short of what was envisioned in a master plan for the area, outlined in a draft agreement with the govern- ment in 2019. That plan would have allowed the group to de- velop 100,000 square metres of residential and office space, along with two luxury hotels. The first phase of the plan was to include two luxury ser- viced residential blocks, with the tallest rising to 15 floors, on land located between the current Corinthia and the Ra- disson Hotel. However, the draft agreement with the gov- ernment, spearheaded by dis- graced former Minister Kon- rad Mizzi, was never ratified. Moreover, in 2022, a Corin- thia spokesperson confirmed to Lovin Malta that the com- pany had "put its plans for the St George peninsula on hold for the time being," as part of a "strategic decision to focus on other projects internationally as well as locally." The Corinthia Group has also recently applied for a two-sto- rey extension to its flagship ho- tel in Attard. Corinthia wants two more floors on Marina Hotel The Corinthia Marina Hotel Additional f loors set to host 102 new rooms, increasing the hotel's capacity to 302 rooms