A trade union confederation has joined the barrage of criticism of employers’ sick leave proposals, saying the suggestions should have first been made on the Employment Relations Board.

While condemning any form of abuse, the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions said it expected the Malta Employers’ Association to condemn “exploitation tactics” by some of its members.

The CMTU was reacting to proposals made by the MEA a fortnight ago on radical changes to sick leave entitlement, wanting to limit it to workers who are “really” sick and exclude those with hangovers, sunburn or sports injuries.

“The confederation expects that the MEA declare itself against any employer’s exploitation tactics which sometimes verge on illegal practices, complemented by a serious lack of enforcement be it legislative or sometimes by the MEA itself when it is powerless when dealing with its own members,” it said in its statement.