On November 29, 2024, the Maltese government and ten trade unions signed a landmark Public Service Collective Agreement for the period 2025-2030, through which 33,000 Public Service employees such as nurses, teachers, police officers, and administration workers will be benefitting directly from. 

The agreement is currently coming into force during this month, in a smooth transition ensuring that Public Service employees benefit from its provisions through the first 2025 payroll!  

Negotiations on this Agreement were initiated by the Principal Permanent Secretary on 6th March 2024 where he gave an overview of the current situation and his vision for a new public service collective agreement. The Public Administration was represented during the whole process by the Industrial Relations Unit (IRU) and the Permanent Secretary P&SD within the Office of the Prime Minister under whose remit falls the IRU. The 10 unions were represented by the top two highest officials within each union. The collective agreement was concluded in a total of 11 full day meetings.  

These negotiations saw an increase in union representation following the recognition awarded for disciplined forces within the Public Service employee and thus representatives increase from seven unions to ten unions, welcoming the Malta Police Union, Police Officers’ Union – GWU and Union tal-Protezzjoni Ċivili Malta into this process. 

This agreement, effective from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2030, represents a significant investment of €1.27 billion over the 6-year period, aimed at enhancing salaries and improving working conditions. 

The agreement emphasizes better work-life balance, quality of life, mental health considerations, and environmental sustainability. The Public Administration is committing itself to training its employees as Mental Health First Aiders, a move towards continuing to increase mental health awareness amongst its employees and also to continue to provide constant support through its Employee Support Programme Unit. Needless to say, an emphasis on adopting to the ever changing world of Information Technology is also a commitment of the parties. 

The new agreement emphasizes the importance of social dialogue and constant communication between the employer and employee representatives. This issue was discussed at length and the parties agree to a new mechanism to support stronger dialogue during the validity of the agreement. It has established a new mechanism to resolve potential disputes in an efficient and effective manner to foster a more harmonious working environment.   

In a move to continue supporting employees to continue maintaining their quality of life even beyond their employment years, Public Administration has also committed to refund employees €250 per annum if they subscribe to a third pillar private pension. Such refund is over and above the current tax rebate for Third Pillar Pensions which was launched in November 2014.  

The Agreement incorporated within it substantial financial improvements such as:   

• Salary Increases: The agreement stipulates an average annual wage increase, including allowances, of 3.85%. Notably, employees in the lowest salary scale (Scale 20) will see their basic salary rise to €1,200 above the national minimum wage, a substantial increase from the previous €500 margin. 
  
• Overtime Compensation: This has been a long standing issue and the first steps to address this matter were carried out in the 2017-2024 agreement. The new collective agreement now ensures that the matter is settled and employees above salary scale 10 will see improvements in their overtime payment.  
  
• Long-Service Bonus: A new long-service bonus will be introduced in 2026 for employees who have more than 20 years active service with the Public Service. 
  
• Educational Incentives: As from January 2025 all employees who are in possession of a Masters’ Qualification or higher will become eligible to the qualification allowance irrespective of whether this was a pre-requisite to their entry post or not. Furthermore, the qualification allowance will be increasing for all levels during the period of the agreement. Together with other schemes provided by the Public Administration this will encourage to encourage employees to take up high level of studies and invest in improving their knowledge and skills.  
  
• On Call Allowance: The current stand-by system has been redesigned to meet today’s needs and demands in this respect. Employees performing such duties will see an increase in the compensation for such duties being carried out. This will help ensure that essential services will continue to be provided to the Citizens of Malta as needed.  
  
• Shift Allowance: Employees working on a roster and shift basis will see hefty increases in the weekly shift allowance to compensate for work during unsocial hours. 
  

The agreement was focused on a wide array of aspects with the ultimate goal of improving services, bettering the working conditions of public service employees and motivating citizens to join the public service.