Discrimination against trade unions

The Finance Ministry's exclusion of the Maltese Unions' Forum to a consultation meeting on the budget (October 11) is yet another example of the discrimination being faced by the 11 trade unions making up this coalition.

Indeed, the Forum is also excluded from the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development.

The unions which make up the Forum represent workers including University academics, teachers, bankers, engineers, architects, nurses, Air Malta pilots and cabin crew, Mepa employees and other professional workers. It is baffling that the government has still not accepted the Forum's four-year-old request to join the MCESD. This effectively means that representatives of over 11,000 workers are being excluded from official budget discussions.

Alternattiva Demokratika - the Green party therefore appeals to the government to include the Forum in MCESD, in time to discuss the forthcoming budget. MCESD should be more inclusive and include more representatives of civil society.

This is especially the case when more and more workers are being denied a voice due to the increase in precarious work in Malta.