Social partners debate future of workplace in Europe conference

Labour MEP Josianne Cutajar has said more work needs to be done to safeguard workers’ rights, calling to attention the reality of zero-hour contracts.

She was addressing the third conference on the Future of the EU held by SEM (Servizzi Ewropei f’Malta) together with social partners and NGOs on the workplace of the future.

Her thoughts were echoed by Josef Bugeja, secretary-general of the General Workers Union. “Flexible hours but rigid work conditions are needed. We should move away from those kinds of insecure jobs in the future and have more socially conscious contracts.”

Diane Vella Muscat, director-general of the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations, said a lot of particular cases that do not fit a ‘normal’ category needed attention, such as third county nationals (TCNs) and similar workers who were not entitled to leave. “There needs to be more transparency and predictable conditions at the workplace,” she said.

Bugeja also called for a hybrid workplace where teleworking could be combined with the physical workplace. “We need to work on removing barriers that exist to remote working as well as expand the scope of retraining, and improve data collection methods to analyze whether remote work is working.”

His sentiment was echoed by the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin CEO Josef Vella. “Remote working needs a structured approach that correlates to the needs of the economy.”

Other participants underlined the importance of education for youths and equally for those in need of retraining and re-skilling.

“The foundation lies in education, with a focus on digitization through ICT courses… In an ever-changing world, youths need to be ready to change direction with what talents they are refining,” said Liam Axisa, from the National Youth Council.

The Malta Employers Association’s director-general Joe Farrugia however called for more flexible and dynamic workplaces that to the ever-changing requirement of the job market. “An environment must be cultivated wherein the workers feel capable and motivated to retrain and diversify their skills. There is also need for pathways for those who have left education to come back to education, or at least find a job. That is part of the mandate of a socially conscious EU. There’s still inequality but the foundational idea of Europe was always an egalitarian social model that would at least strive to provide equal opportunity for all.”

The CEO of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, Alfred Grixti, declared he was against quotas for disabled people in the workplace. “You shouldn’t hire people to fill out a quota, you should hire people because you need or can make use of them. Otherwise, the motivation wouldn’t be correct you should do it because its inherently good.”