Employees at the Malta Tourism Authority are being deprived of the opportunity for a promotion because most vacancies were being filled by external workers, according to the General Workers’ Union.

But the MTA rejected the accusation, insisting it followed all recruitment procedures.

In a letter sent to the MTA, the union emphasised that, according to the collective agreement and public administration law, when it came to jobs within the public sector an internal call for applications had to be issued when there were vacancies. However, vacancies within the MTA were being filled by people from outside without the authority first issuing an internal call. This meant workers were being deprived the opportunity of a promotion.

The union called on the MTA to stop employing outsiders, at least until the issue of union recognition was settled and reserved the right to take further action.

The MTA insisted that full-time positions covered by the collective agreement grades were filled in conformity with established procedure. Once a vacancy was approved, it was first advertised internally to eligible staff and any applicants for the post were interviewed. If no suitable applicants were found internally or no internal applications were received, a call was made through the Employment and Training Corporation, the MTA said.