Professors at the University of Malta want top first-world salaries despite having third-world standards. Note that thee academics can make these outrageous demands only because the UOM is fully publicly-funded and also under the direct control of the government through the governing Council. It is the only major university in Malta and this is why without any competition, the UOM has no accountability for its abysmal standards.
The ongoing dispute will only strengthen the case for the future privatisation of the institution because the government has no ability under current conditions to make the institution profitable and more valuable. The government was previously engaged in endless industrial disputes at Air Malta that were only resolved with very generous compensation packages and the winding down of the company into effective bankruptcy because the government had effectively lost control over the company. The fact that Air Malta had strategic control over certain routes enabled the company and its work-force namely its pilots to make outrageous demands for public funding without being accountable to profitability.
The situation at the University of Malta is very similar. Academics at the UOM can unilaterally take industrial action and make outrageous demands for public funding without any accountability whatsoever because they have no other competitor. The lack of competition is also undermining national research as it undermines productivity – which explains the dearth of research and publications in many fields.
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