Forum Unions criticize ‘one-sided’ employers’ proposals

The Forum Unions Maltin has criticized a proposal on sick-leave made by the Malta Employers’ Association to amend the Employment and Industrial Relations Act

The MEA are proposing that “absenteeism from work due to self-inflicted unfitness for work including, but not limited to, drunkenness, hangover, sunburn, sun-strokes, and sports injuries will not render the employee entitled to sick-leave, even if the employee is certified by his own doctor as unfit for work”.

Forum President Paul Pace said that this proposal “goes against the interest and the basic rights of employees and defeats the concept of sick leave by attempting to ‘decide’ which conditions are God-sent and which are inflicted by man”.

Pace also said that the MEA’s recent proposals “conveniently” omit safeguards for the rights of female employees regarding maternity benefits. “According to National Statistics Office statistics, out of the two thousand female employees who become pregnant in the private sector, only 900 employees eventually receive maternity benefits,” Pace said. “The other 1,100 female employees are eventually discharged from work under some pretext.

“The MEA proposals short-sightedly favour the employer,” Pace added. “However, in the long term they may result in high employee turn-over. Worse still, there is no consideration of the fact that even to-date some employers still resort to exploitative practices.”

If the government decides to discuss the MEA’s proposals, Pace said that FOR.U.M. was ready to join forces with the General Workers Union to oppose most of them. Yesterday, the GWU described the MEA’s proposals as ‘regressive’ and warned that their acceptance by the Government could spell ‘industrial trouble’.

“The MEA is projecting itself as an anti-worker organisation,” Pace said. “A wrong message is being sent to employers and a great disservice is being created to the filed of employment and industrial relations.”