The Malta Chamber considers the matter of compensation of vacation leave for public holidays that fall on a weekend a closed chapter.

"It is most unhealthy to drag issues out of the past, that have been settled and concluded for more than 10 years," the Chamber said in a statement this morning. 

It was reacting after the General Workers' Union appealed to the government to give workers back all public holidays which fell on a weekend, a measure that had been removed by the Nationalist legislature in 2005.

The Chamber warned that re-introducing the compensation mechanism will directly impact the country's productivity and competitiveness.

"At a time when the country is doing relatively well, all interested parties must resist the temptation to start taking the economy for granted. We cannot even contemplate the weakening of Malta’s competitiveness."

The Chamber said it was satisfied that the matter has transcended a number of administrations in recognition of its clear positive effect from a productivity and economic expansion point of view.