The department responsible for aviation has awarded a security contract to a company that is receiving a lower hourly rate for it than that set by the government in its fight against precarious employment, Times of Malta has learnt.

The contract was awarded by Malta Air Traffic Services in February, almost a year after the Office of Prime Minister issued circulars establishing the minimum rate at which firms contracted for cleaning or security services could be paid.

A spokeswoman for the Tourism Ministry, which is responsible for MATS, said the contract was awarded to Kerber Securities Limited on March 10 this year after the department had sought quotations from six companies for security services at its Fawwara Radar site.

The company’s quotation was the cheapest – €5.12 per hour excluding VAT.

Previously, MATS had a contract with Khiron Securities for similar security services at Ħal Far Radar site and MATS was being charged €5.70 per hour excluding VAT.

The rate with which Kerber Securities was contracted is 60c lower than the rate established by the Prime Minister’s Office through circular 12/2013, issued in July.

This circular was then clarified in another circular, 15/2014, issued on March 26 this year, which established the minimum price at €5.78 an hour, excluding VAT.

The spokeswoman said this minimum price was established after the contract was awarded but the second circular says the directives were backdated to March 10, the precise date when the contract was awarded to Kerber Security.

But the spokeswoman insisted that it was only after the contract was awarded that the government issued the new directive.

“Since the awarding of the contract, and much after the competitive process in question was concluded, new measures against precarious employment came into force and will be implemented without any derogations for contracts awarded by the government departments or entities, such as MATS,” the spokeswoman said.

She also pointed out that the contract was awarded to a firm that was “using a rate which is above the 2014 minimum wage for full-time employees – €165.68 weekly”.

She said the government had taken concrete action against precarious work such as the blacklisting of companies following breach of the Employment and Industrial Relations Act, the implementation of new rules which cater for regular inspections on companies being awarded government contracts and the improvement of working conditions at ARMS Ltd.

“This fight against abuse must and will continue,” she said.