New rules of temping agencies guarantee workers' rights

 Regulations guaranteeing the rights to workers employed by temping agencies, which came into force in December, will encourage employers to introduce family friendly measures at the place of work, Justice Miister Chris Said said today.

It was hoped that more employers would realise that temping agencies could provide them with stop-gap solutions once any of their permanent workers went out on paternal, maternal, sickness or injury leave.

Dr Said underscored the importance of the Temporary Agency Workers Regulations, during a seminar organised by the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) on 'EURES Private Recruitment and Temping Agencies'.

He said that the growth of temporary work in Malta afforded employers increased flexibility. 'It is useful to have a pool of individuals in various fields who are readily available to industry to meet short term requirements whilst avoiding delays caused by formal recruitment procedures," he said.

Dr Said said that over the years the government worked hard to encourage work-family balance and to encourage more women to play an active role and contribute directly to the economy. There were now 12,000 more women working than in 2000.

"This 10 per cent increase in the female participation goes hand in hand with the increasing female student population in the tertiary level. For every four male students, we have six female students vying to further their education at this level. What a waste it would be if our country, our employers, if our economy, was not not be able to reap the dividends of all this investment in the education of all our students - whatever their gender - simply because women keep dropping out once they start raising a family", the minister said.

Dr Said said the public sector was leading the way in family friendly measures are concerned. As from this year, maternity leave was increased to 16 weeks. The same applied to adoption leave for workers in the public sector. Maternity leave would increase by another two weeks as from 1 January 2013.

The government was also encouraging the use of child care centres. Apart from investing in its own child-care centres, Government was helping the private sector tap EU funds to improve and upgrade its facilities. Tthere are currently 52 registered child care centres whose facilities are used by over 1,500 children under the age of three. Minister Chris Said also mentioned the fact that over the last three years, more than 8,600 women have opted to return to work thus benefitting from a tax holiday by not paying income tax for one whole year.