[WATCH] GWU expresses commitment to tackling precarious work and social exclusion

General Workers Union discusses precarious work, poverty and job creation with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat • Video by Ray Attard

General Workers’ Union secretary general Josef Bugeja said that the union’s biggest priorities would be tackling precarious jobs, increasing health and safety measures at work and overcoming poverty and social exclusion.

Speaking to Prime minister Joseph Muscat, Bugeja further added that the GWU would seek to address other issues like exploitation of refugees working in Malta and the rights and equal treatment of the LGBTIQ community in the work place.

“I think that the union has a very crucial role to fill and that we can truly make a difference if we remain committed to these aims. “

Addressing the members of the Union, Muscat said that the GWU was the biggest on the island, but that his office was open to meetings and discussions with various unions, with the aim of improving employer-worker relations.

“We are against policies that create separations between employers and their workers, and we truly believe workers and their employers are two sides of the same coin,” he said stressing the importance of enhancing and supporting relations between the two.

Muscat added that the country was experiencing its lowest ever unemployment rates and unprecedented levels of job creation, but that the government would never forget people who were unemployed in spite of these figures.

“I think it’s time we changed the way we talk about employment and move from the idea of creating jobs to creating careers, and giving people the opportunity to improve from one position to another,” he said.

Muscat also said that the government needed to find ways to incentivize young people to consider careers in the tourism and health sectors in particular

“We need to address the conditions that might be discouraging young people from considering such a career path,” Muscat added.  

The meeting continued behind closed doors.