According to the latest schools’ sectoral MUT agreement, which has been described as “historic”, “in this month’s salary (August 2024), all Education Grades in employment in the Church Schools Sector on the 15th July 2024, will each receive the one-time cash payment of €1,000 arising from the Government.”
This site has been informed by both teachers and LSEs who work in the state sector that they received this one-time cash payment of 1k but they were taxed, big time! Wasn’t it called “cash payment” or was this phrase used on purpose for loopholes to be looped in? Didn’t the MUT agreement specify that this won’t be taxed? So, as always, the government is taking back part of what it claims it is generously giving you – zipping up your mouth and mocking you. This government has no respect for educators and all education grades at all. This is the message which is being given to society as a whole, a society which has already lost all respect for educators.
Last but not least, considering that respect also has it that an agreement should have been ready by 1st January 2023 but which was not, educators will be given all the increment they are entitled to in arrears, which also makes it liable to a heavier taxation as opposed to had they were given the increment monthly had this “historic agreement” been presented on 1st January 2023.
Here is the statement in an article by the UPE:
“If MUT officials had to be salespeople, they would likely rank among the worst in the industry because in our opinion, they appear unable to sell their own work.
On the 30th of May, Mr Bonnici and his duo, presented with so much pomposity the abriviated powerpoint presentation of yet another ‘Historic Sectoral Agreement’.
One slide made it explicitly clear that a one-off cash payment of €1,000 would be awarded to all educators covered by the sectoral agreement, intended to acknowledge the hard work of educators.
Unfortunately, this recognition has largely been taken back by the state.
But is it possible that those negotiating are utterly incompetent?
All we can say is that yesterday, educators suffered a significant setback from those who were meant to secure another ‘Historic Agreement’, as well as from the few educators who, in our view, continue to support an incompetent salesperson.”
18 months of negotiations and a number of industrial actions and it all boils down to this.
Prime Minister Robert Abela is on record stating that the Labour government is widening the tax band for workers, and educators are being further taxed which is theft made politically legal, and educators are being robbed from the little they are getting in this “Historic Sectoral Agreement.” It is the government taking back a big part of what it is “generously” giving to educators.
It is a “Historic Sectoral Agreement” in the eyes of an MUT and a government which suffer from the God complex syndrome but which come to you dressed in the Costume Deceit to give you another historical lie.