The Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin has distanced itself from the government jobless scheme administered by the General Workers’ Union, insisting it took a principled decision not to tender.
The Community Workers Scheme sees some 600 long-term unemployed being put on the payroll of a GWU foundation and paid the minimum wage from public funds passed on to the union.
The UĦM categorically denied any connection to the scheme and others that could be similar in nature after the government and the GWU had implied the union was also benefitting from tenders issued by Jobsplus, the government employment agency.
Asked by the Times of Malta whether it was true that the UĦM was participating in government schemes similar to the one managed by the GWU, a spokesman for the union said this was completely false.
“While we are not interested in entering into a debate with the government and the GWU on this issue, it is erroneous to say that the UĦM is somehow associated with a scheme which makes profit from vulnerable workers,” the spokesman said.
In recent years, both the GWU and the UĦM won tenders issued by Jobsplus for their participation in the Youth Guarantee and Work programme schemes, aimed to provide training to those looking for work.
“These schemes are mostly administered through EU funds and are only related to the EU’s strategy of achieving certain economic objectives by 2020. They have nothing to do with the Community Workers Scheme,” the UĦM spokesman said.
Asked why the union had not participated in the government’s tender for the Community Workers Scheme, the UĦM spokesman said this was a principled decision. “We intentionally chose not to participate in the tendering process for the Community Workers Scheme as we did not want to put ourselves into a clear conflict of interest.”
A few weeks ago, The Sunday Times of Malta reported that, following an agreement between the Education Ministry, Jobsplus and the GWU, some 600 long-term unemployed were struck off the unemployment register and placed with a foundation owned by the GWU.
In return for managing the scheme, the GWU is paid €980 a month per worker, from which it forks out the minimum wage, bonuses and national insurance payments, keeping the rest.
According to calculations made by The Sunday Times of Malta, the GWU would be making some €5 million over the five-year duration of the contract.
Meanwhile, the Education Ministry and the GWU are refusing to explain the connection between the Community Workers Scheme Enterprise Foundation, which is managing the scheme, and District Operations Ltd, a commercial company owned by the GWU.
Both entities operate from the same premises and senior Education Ministry officials have directed schools where these scheme employees work to liaise with District Operations Ltd on all matters connected to the Community Workers Scheme.
Asked to state who is managing the foundation and how many officials are employed with it, the GWU had said that the foundation had no employees.
ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com