Some former Arriva workers now employed by the new public transport company were being handed contracts renewable monthly or every three months, Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin general secretary Josef Vella said yesterday.

Describing this as precarious employment, he said the situation was unacceptable.

The union was planning to request sole recognition in order to be able to make representations on their behalf and get these working conditions stopped.

He said they were “making their lives difficult, especially because of the uncertainty that such working conditions bring along. These are not acceptable in this day and age”.

Addressing union delegates at the end of a conference marking Workers’ Day, Mr Vella said workers were “scared” of speaking up when their rights were trampled upon.

He assured them the union was there to stand up for them but urged them to become union members.

“We never look at memberships when we fight for your rights, but we are not fighting dogs who people use to fight their battles.”

Turning to the health sector, Mr Vella appealed to the government to respect previously signed agreements and not call the union to renegotiate deals which had been concluded and signed.

“The agreement for health workers was signed last year but this year the government wanted to renegotiate.

“We attended but the allowances and increases were not reflected in the salaries. We are not a militant union but everything has a limit,” he said, receiving a standing ovation from delegates.

Mr Vella said that while it was heartening that the Jobs+ programme had been adopted by the government, the committee that was meant to implement the measure was still without a budget.

The Austrian government pumped millions into its implementation and, proportionally, this would mean around €30 million for Malta, he added.

He said the sustainability of pensions was a challenge that could not be postponed further to ensure that today’s youths had an adequate pension.

Meanwhile, during the conference, union health section secretary Gian Paul Gauci said members were complaining that politicians were applying pressure on staff at Mater Dei Hospital for patients to skip the waiting lists.

Mr Gauci said that MPs also phoned consultants at Karen Grech Hospital, pressuring them to keep elderly patients there instead of discharging them.

He said the politicians were from both sides of the political spectrum and the interference had been going on for years.