The government concluded the best collective agreements ever for educators.
The claim is accurate. The 2024 Sectoral Agreement (signed 15 July 2024, covering ~8,000 state-school educators, running to 2027) delivers substantial salary increases: by 2027 the starting salary rises by around €9,000 and the maximum teacher salary by around €11,000 — taking the maximum from €35,325 to €46,340, a 31% increase. Scale progression is also accelerated: teachers can now reach Scale 7 in a maximum of 8 years instead of 16. On top of the salary scale itself, the agreement adds a one-off €1,000 on signing, a €2,000/year allowance for educators with 20+ years of service, a €1,000/year allowance for primary teachers, and LSE/KGE allowances that slightly more than double from 2024 and more than triple by 2027. And this package is exclusive of further increases from supervision, first-aider and other Public Service Collective Agreement benefits starting 2025. The MUT signed the agreement and its president endorsed it. 'Best ever' is a superlative without a published ranking to test against — but the scale of the increases is large, and the union, the counterparty with every incentive to contest an overclaim, did not dispute the characterisation.
The claim is accurate. The 2024 Sectoral Agreement (signed 15 July 2024, covering ~8,000 state-school educators, running to 2027) delivers substantial salary increases: by 2027 the starting salary rises by around €9,000 and the maximum teacher salary by around €11,000 — taking the maximum from €35,325 to €46,340, a 31% increase. Scale progression is also accelerated: teachers can now reach Scale 7 in a maximum of 8 years instead of 16. On top of the salary scale itself, the agreement adds a one-off €1,000 on signing, a €2,000/year allowance for educators with 20+ years of service, a €1,000/year allowance for primary teachers, and LSE/KGE allowances that slightly more than double from 2024 and more than triple by 2027. And this package is exclusive of further increases from supervision, first-aider and other Public Service Collective Agreement benefits starting 2025. The MUT signed the agreement and its president endorsed it. 'Best ever' is a superlative without a published ranking to test against — but the scale of the increases is large, and the union, the counterparty with every incentive to contest an overclaim, did not dispute the characterisation.
We tested Abela's claim against the 2024 Sectoral Agreement text and MUT documentation, Maltese press coverage of the agreement's provisions and signing (15 July 2024), and the European Commission Eurydice summary of the agreement. The methodological question is whether 'concluded the best collective agreements ever' is supported as a description of what happened.
Verdict lands at True because the agreement is real, substantial, and MUT-endorsed, and the increases it delivers are large by any reading: the maximum teacher salary rises 31% (€35,325 to €46,340 by 2027), the starting salary rises by around €9,000, scale progression is halved (Scale 7 in 8 years rather than 16), and a layer of allowances sits on top — with the whole package exclusive of further Public Service Collective Agreement benefits from 2025. 'Best ever' is a superlative with no published index to test against, but the union — the party with every incentive to contest an overclaim — signed the agreement and endorsed it. The literal claim that the government concluded a substantial, best-in-class collective agreement for educators is supported by the documented provisions.
Did Labour really conclude the best ever collective agreement for educators
The claim holds. A substantial sectoral agreement for educators was concluded, the MUT signed it, and the salary increases it delivers are large by any reading — the maximum teacher salary rises 31% by 2027, the starting salary by around €9,000, and scale progression is halved. "Best ever" is a superlative with no published index to test against, but the union — the party with every incentive to contest an overclaim — endorsed the agreement rather than disputing it.
What the 2024 Sectoral Agreement delivers on pay
The agreement was signed on 15 July 2024 between the Malta Union of Teachers and the government, covers approximately 8,000 state-school educators, and runs to 2027. The headline salary provisions:
- Starting salary rises by around €9,000 by 2027.
- Maximum teacher salary rises by around €11,000 by 2027 — from €35,325 to €46,340, a 31% increase.
- Faster scale progression — teachers can reach Scale 7 in a maximum of 8 years, down from 16.
This is a direct increase to the salary scale itself — not a one-off and not solely allowance-based. The maximum a classroom teacher can earn (before promotion to Head of Department or Head Teacher) rises from €35,325 to €46,340 across the agreement's life. The starting salary rises by a comparable absolute amount. And the time it takes to climb the scale is cut in half — Scale 7 in 8 years rather than 16 — which front-loads the gain for newer teachers.
The allowances layer on top of the salary scale
Beyond the salary scale, the agreement adds a set of allowances:
- A one-off €1,000 cash payment on signing of the agreement.
- A €2,000/year allowance for all educators with 20 or more years of service.
- A €1,000/year allowance for primary-school teachers, from January 2023.
- LSE and KGE allowances (Learning Support Educators and Kindergarten Educators) that slightly more than double from 2024 and more than triple by 2027.
And the package is not even the full picture. The financial provisions of the sectoral agreement are exclusive of further increases related to supervision, first-aider duties, and other benefits emerging from the wider Public Service Collective Agreement starting in 2025 — those sit on top.
Is "best ever" defensible?
"Best ever" is a superlative, and there is no single published index ranking every prior Maltese educators' agreement against this one. What can be said is concrete: a 31% rise in the maximum teacher salary, a ~€9,000 rise in the starting salary, scale progression cut from 16 years to 8, and an allowances layer that triples LSE/KGE allowances by 2027 — all in a single agreement covering ~8,000 educators. The MUT — the counterparty with every reason to push back on an overclaim — signed the agreement, and its president publicly endorsed it as recognising educators' experience and qualifications. A union accepting and endorsing the framing is the strongest available evidence that the superlative is not a serious overstatement.
So is the claim accurate?
Yes. The government concluded a substantial sectoral agreement for educators: the maximum teacher salary rises 31% (€35,325 to €46,340 by 2027), the starting salary by around €9,000, scale progression is halved, and a set of allowances sits on top — with the whole package exclusive of further Public Service Collective Agreement benefits from 2025. The MUT signed and endorsed it. "Best ever" is a superlative without a published ranking to test against, but the scale of the increases is large and the union did not contest the characterisation.
Verdict: True.