November 13, 2026 at 11:03 am
Constitutional court decree: a re-affirmation that unrecognised unions cannot act as if they are recognised
The Maltese constitutional court decree of 12 November 2026 (639/2022AL) in the case of Upe and two lecturers vs ITS is unequivocal. The court rejected the case. Witnesses which have been reproduced in the decree consistently asserted that Upe deceived them when telling them that a clause about unauthorised industrial actions in the collective agreement is illegal. Upe members were also deceived during the dispute with ITS when Upe sent bills to lecturers for legal fees which were never provided or contemplated. A witness declared that they were misinformed by Upe in claiming that they are a recognised union at ITS. Another stated that they broke ties with Upe, stopped their participation in the directives and joined MUT since it is the recognised union. Another one claimed that they did not know that Upe would escalate the case with industrial actions as they were only carrying out discussions.
The decree rejected the claims of Upe on all counts, effectively re-affirming that only a recognised union can discuss collective matters with management and that industrial actions by an unrecognised union can lead to disciplinary procedures.
The key takeout of this decree – is deceiving members by a union resulting in disciplinary actions risking the firing of employees acceptable and tolerated without consequences?
