A call to employ cleaners at the abattoir was described by the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU) as a blatant example of the two weights and measures approach being adopted by the Government in combating precarious employment.

In a statement, the GRTU yesterday lambasted the Government for its decision to prohibit subcontracting in public tenders to prevent employers offering substandard working conditions, while accusing it of allowing public entities themselves to offer substandard employment conditions.

Last night, the Parliamentary Secretariat for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights, which is responsible for the management of the abattoir, said it was addressing the matter.

It would make sure these jobs fell within the Government’s policy on precarious employment and it was investigating other precarious jobs awarded before the last election.

Employing pseudo self-employed people amounts to unfair competition

The chamber said the call was issued earlier this month with an hourly salary of €6.26. From this amount employees would have to deduct the social security contribution as well as VAT, ending up with a meagre salary.

In addition, the workers have no right to sick leave and holidays, and are expected to work on Sundays and public holidays with no extra allowance.

The GRTU said the law clearly stated that people who earned over 75 per cent of their income from the source that dictated their working conditions could not be regarded as self-employed.

Public entities were resorting to such measures to avoid being subject to public service rules and at the same avoid employing people from the unemployed register, the GRTU claimed.

It added that the practice of employing “pseudo self-employed” was tantamount to unfair competition with private enterprises.

In its statement the GRTU reiterated that the decision taken last month to prohibit subcontracting as a measure to combat precarious employment will virtually exclude small enterprises from public procurement and may even lead to layoffs.

It added introducing more red tape or making it hard for small businesses to submit offers for public tenders would lead nowhere.

Enforcing employment regulations should neither be the responsibility of the authority issuing the tender nor of the Contracts Director.

The onus should be on heads of departments, employers and the Director of Employment, said the GRTU.