Union, MEPs call for a 'more social' Europe

Two MEPs and the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin have agreed on the need of increased commitment to achieve a more social Europe.

In a meeting with a UĦM delegation, Labour MEP Glenn Bedingfield and Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil said they would strive to ensure Europe did not lose its social conscience.

Mr Bedingfield, who started his MEP experience in Brussels in October, succeeding Joseph Muscat who was elected Labour leader, said he was tackling issues which affected workers' rights.

He mentioned, as examples, those workers who were being exploited at their workplace and those who were engaged on definite contracts.

Mr Bedingfield said the EU had to move towards becoming more of a social Europe, giving more priority to these issues.

Dr Busuttil mentioned issues he had pushed in the past five years, such as assistance for VF and Bortex factory workers who lost their jobs and the issue of workers on fixed-term contracts. Other issues, he said, involved rights of pregnant women. He said the time had come to exclude pregnant women from the law that gave employers the right to sack an employee during the probation period without the need to give a reason.

Similarly, the law should also be changed so that if a woman's maternity leave request overlapped with the annual leave of another employee, both were able to take the leave requested.

Dr Busuttil also mentioned the working time directive and his work for Maltese workers to retain their right to work more than 48 hours a week if they wished.

UĦM general secretary Gejtu Vella said all Malta's MEPs should work hand in hand to achieve the best for their country, rising above partisan politics.

He proposed regular meetings between the people representing Malta at EU level so that they could possibly take a common stand.

"We expect more commitment from the Maltese MEPs on the EU's social policies and for the social aspect to remain at the centre of their attention," he said.