Employers say they cannot pay €5.78 hourly rate to cleaners

The Malta Employers’ Association has called upon government to issue a clarification over the minimum rates of tendering for the cleaning and security sectors.

“Operators in these sectors were given to understand that no tender for cleaning and security services is to be accepted at a rate of less than €5.78 per hour, excluding VAT, with effect from the 10 March 2014. In spite of this, recent public pronouncements have been misinterpreted to mean that the €5.78 is the rate that is going to be paid to the workers,” the MEA said.

The level of salaries paid out in the cleaning and security sectors was a cause of concern for unions who claimed that government contracts were being awarded to companies paying less than minimum wage.

“Over the past weeks, employers in these sectors have been approached by their employees requesting payment of €5.78 per hour, and even unions are being pressured into making claims to this effect. This is creating a situation of confusion and uncertainty as companies are not in a position to pay these rates,” the MEA said.

MEA said that although establishing a minimum rate for tendering was a step in the right direction in order to ensure that employees receive at least their minimum legal entitlement, the tendering rate of €5.78 would barely cover the national minimum wage, other employment related costs and administrative expenses.

In 2013, the MEA had issued a joint statement with the General Workers Union recommending an hourly tendering rate of €7.50 for companies to have a safe margin within which to operate.