€190 million collective agreement for ‘more efficient’ public sector signed

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech and principal permanent secretary Godwin Grima today signed a collective agreement for civil service employees, which will total €190 million in cost over the next six years.

The agreement, two years in the offing, will give public sector employees a 2.5% salary increase annually, which will globally amount to a 13% increase over the next six years.

"This is in stark contrast to what is happening in other European countries, where public service employees suffered up to 20% wage cuts in some cases. It is sustainable and this has the green light of the European Commission," Fenech said.

Members of major trade unions General Workers Union, the Union Haddiema Maqghudin, Forum, MUT, and MUMN and doctors union MAM were in attendance.

The 30,000 civil servants had been waiting for the signing of a new collective agreement since the expiry of the previous agreement in 2010. The new collective agreement which was trashed out in recent months, comes just months before the looming general election.

Government's nearly 30,000-strong workforce will not be the only ones to enjoy the pay rise but retired public servants will also see an increase in their pensions. The new agreement also includes a number of family-friendly measures including the introduction of flexitime for personal reasons and the facility to take part of the available vacation leave on an hourly basis.

Fenech said the agreement would offer stability and tranquillity for the country, in an indirect reference to claims by the Opposition of political instability troubling the country's economic performance.

The minister stressed that the agreement is transparent and gives the certainty of stability to the whole country. He added that the agreement will also introduce new measures in regards to settlement of industrial disputes and will improve structured mobility within the public services' ranks.

On his part, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi today the agreement paid witness to the responsibility of both government and unions. "Prudence and responsibility have won yet again. This agreement will give stability to the country for the next six years," Gonzi said.

"One of the reasons Malta has overcome the challenge of the international financial crisis was thanks to the preceding collective agreement and family-friendly measures that benefit 7% of the 30,000 employees covered by the preceding agreement, which will now go up to 13%."

He added that the agreement should serve as a model for the private sector to grow and follow suit in introducing more family-friendly measures.

The prime minister said that the taxpayer will expect a more efficient public sector in return for this collective agreement, paid for by public funds. Gonzi said the agreement will not only benefit the 30,000 government employees and their families, but also all citizens that make use of the public service.

Gonzi thanked the trade unions representing the 30,000 public servants for being reasonable in their demands, in the context of the current international economic scenario.

A last-minute agreement was also reached between government and the union of psychologists barely two hours before the signing of the long-awaited civil service collective agreement.

The Malta Union of Professional Psychologists (MUPP) had announced that it would not join other unions in signing the agreement, however during a press conference held in Floriana this afternoon it was announced that there was a breakthrough in the negotiations.

Caruana said that the initial difficulties emerged from differences on the sectorial agreement. Despite the two parties having been locked in discussions for the last four years, no concrete proposals were received before the press conference was called.