Updated | Workers to retain full teleworking hours, abuses won’t be tolerated

The Malta Tourism Authority has denied it had withdrawn teleworking options, arguing that it was clamping down on abuse.

“The authority will ensure that eligible workers can benefit from teleworking but it won’t allow anyone to abuse of the measure,” the Ministry for Tourism said in a reaction.

The ministry also hit out at what it called “the Opposition’s negativity” for issuing a misleading statement. “It is clear that the PN wants to be destructive even in the fight against abuse.”

The ministry added that an IAID report had flagged the appointments that took place at the authority before the 2013 general election.

Earlier today, the Nationalist Party urged the Malta Tourism Authority to reconsider its decision to stop all its employees working from home and return to the office.

One of the authority’s family friendly measures was the possibility of teleworking. Now, it wants to meet with trade unions to explain why the MTA wants all of its workers at the office.

“There needs to be a solution built on common sense and a balance should be reached between work and family responsibilities,” PN spokesman for tourism Antoine Borg said. 

Borg said the PN understood the responsibilities of the management towards the authority’s work, but hindering family-friendly measures was not the solution.

The MP added it was “ironic” that the government had appointed several people close to the core on a position-of-trust basis but was failing to find reasonable solutions for its workers.