For the sake of competition

Despite the global recession that has hit different parts of the world, our economy is doing relatively well and Malta’s unemployment rates are relatively low in comparison to those of other EU countries. However, this is not necessarily translated into economic well-being at grassroots level, especially in a political climate that tends to put the interests of capital and economic competitiveness before the interests of workers.

Despite the not-so-bleak economic and unemployment figures, our labour market is rife with inequalities and risk factors such as precarious employment conditions. Many workers are faced with a “take it or leave it” option when it comes to working conditions. Not enough effort is being made to curb abuses suffered by certain vulnerable workers such as those who are made to work without a permit or to register as self-employed so they would be denied their rightful benefits. Others are afraid to join a trade union. Many workers lack job security because they are constrained to accept contract work. Manual workers, immigrants, persons with disability, former convicts, women, workers in their 40s and young workers are more vulnerable than others.

Our minimum wage, a meagre €660 monthly, is a social wage that is very often used by employers literally as the minimum amount which they will not surpass. The minimum wage, which is meant to protect workers against abuse, is being used as a benchmark that many workers, especially the most vulnerable groups, will not get past.

Alternattiva Demokratika – the Green party has on more than one occasion voiced its concern about the stark disparity between the minimum wage and the rising cost of living, which many low-income earners find so hard to reconcile. The argument that is often presented in response to AD’s call for an increase in the minimum wage is that this will reduce the competitiveness of industry and attract less foreign investment.

Apart from the shameful fact that the government had no qualms about giving a huge pay rise to its ministers, there is another side to this argument. Increasing the minimum wage will give more spending power to people and enhance both productivity and economic activity. It may act as an incentive to those who are often deemed happy to live off government benefits and who risk being trapped into a life of permanent dependence and poverty. But the government seems to be more concerned with protecting the profit margins of employers than with ensuring that workers receive a decent income.

Therefore, low unemployment figures are not necessarily indicators of economic well-being. Neither are they indicative of high employment rates. On the contrary, in Malta economic inactivity seems to be a more serious problem than unemployment. Persons with disability and women immediately come to mind, two categories that have very specific and particular reasons for keeping away from the labour market.

The obstacles persons with disability have to overcome in order to be able to work are so great that many are constrained to live on a disability pension that amounts to 55 per cent of the minimum wage. Many employers are reluctant to make the necessary changes at the workplace to facilitate the access of persons with disability.

More sincere efforts by the authorities are needed to ensure that employment legislation is properly enforced so that these people’s right to employment and fair wages are ascertained.

Family-friendly measures at the place of work are, more often than not, also left to the discretion of the employer who is supposed to consider both the interests of the organisation or company and the interests of the worker when deciding whether or not to accede to a worker’s demands for, say, reduced or flexible hours.

As long as such decisions rests solely with the employer and are not enforced by law, workers’ continuity of employment, their training, promotion and career prospects, especially in the case of women who remain the primary caregivers, lie in the hands of their boss.

Therefore, despite the rhetoric of wanting to attract more women to the labour market and to enable more women to stay in employment, not enough is being done to ensure that both women and men find a suitable work-life balance, especially in cases of families with small children. While some positive fiscal and social measures have been implemented, resulting in a higher employment rate among women, Malta still occupies the EU’s bottom position where female employment is concerned.

Although, lately, women have been postponing motherhood, many women are still constrained to give up their job upon having children in the absence of working conditions that would facilitate a wider choice of options.

This is another instance where economic competitiveness and profit margins are given precedence over social prerogatives. Once again, it seems that the other side of the coin is being missed altogether.

It is a pity that so much talent is being wasted when social justice and economic competitiveness can be reconciled together. Unfortunately, the government’s recent opposition to the European Commission’s proposal for an increase in maternity and paternity leave does not augur well in this regard.

www.alternattiva.org.mt

The author, a sociologist, is spokesman for social policy of Alternattiva Demokratika – the Green party