Justice minister hits out at ‘generic’ Labour statement on precarious employment

Government and opposition counterparts have traded barbs over working conditions for precarious labourers who depend on part-time employment as their sole source on income.

In a statement, Labour deputy leader Anglu Farrugia said a new Labour government would directly address precarious employment with the necessary working conditions that employees enjoy.

Although he poured cold water over claims by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi that the government introduced anti-exploitation rules back in December, Farrugia did not delve further into the shortcomings of the current legislation.

Last December, a new legal notice made it mandatory for employers to employ part-timers as employees and not as self-employed workers according to eight criteria, of which five must be satisfied to qualify as an employee.

In a reaction, justice minister Chris Said accused Labour of being absent from the legislative process to improve working conditions. "The Opposition is only interested in generic declarations to try and please everybody."

Said said that in the past months, contractors had been made to submit attendance sheets to the Inland Revenue and the Employment and Training Corporation for verification.

"Thirty-five legal notices have been amended in the past four years to improve working conditions for employees, including maternity leave cover and prohibiting mandatory overtime for pregnant women," Said said.

"We have strengthened part-timers' rights, who now have pro-rata leave, sick leave and other benefits. We increased maternity leave to sixteen weeks, and this will increase to 18 by 2013."