Against precarious jobs

We welcome the position being taken by the unions as expressed in their New Year’s Day message against precariousness.

There finally seems to be consensus between the General Workers’ Union, the Union Ħad­diema Magħqudin, the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions and Forum to form a common front against this kind of exploitation.

Żminijietna – Voice of the Left insists that the Forum should now be included in the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development to strengthen the unions’ position.

According to various labour studies, precarious work does not only lead to inferior working conditions but is also associated with non-regular employment, where the system makes it easier for the employers to terminate a work contract. An example of this is the rise in part-time employment that has now reached up to 30,000 workers and the increase in the number of workers employed on definite contracts. The same can be said for certain types of atypical work, such as telework. Although this may be an incentive for workers, providing flexibility and a balance between family and work, to date the system is not being operated for the benefit of the employee and is almost totally lacking in the private sector.

Many employers are using atypical work to enable them to terminate employment to their advantage and to keep wages low. Żminijietna calls upon the unions to tackle this situation holistically so that job creation in Malta is more on a regular basis, where workers have decent wages and security of employment. The liberalisation ideology is leading to the deregulation of the conditions of employment.