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MEA calls for fair practices in employment
The Malta Employers’ Association has expressed concern about various reports of abuses in employment practices by some companies.
“It is unacceptable that companies offering conditions of employment below the legal minimum are allowed to continue servicing contracts which they may have won, even in the public sector, to the detriment of companies which respect the law.
“There is a clear need for enforcement to ensure a level playing field among employers and to protect law abiding organisations. The MEA is calling on government to ensure that companies are not penalised in the tendering process or in the delivery of their services because they offer working conditions in accordance to those established by law.”
The MEA said it does not condone unethical or illegal practices in the employment of persons, and fully supported law enforcement efforts to ensure that employees work in a safe environment with working conditions which respect the legal parameters.
“On the other hand, unions should refrain from being anecdotal about their allegations of abuse. If they have tangible proof of illegal practices, they have the duty to report them to the competent authorities, rather than issuing statements which portray all employers with the same brush.”
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Some of Malta's biggest companies have been circumventing labour laws for years, for example by telling their salesmen to be self-employed. But it should be the unions who are fighting these illeagal practices. It is admirable that MEA takes up the issue, but it is because the unions are failing their responsibility.
