The Office of the President of Malta has offered a group of workers already employed at the President’s Kitchen Garden “highly irregular” employment contracts that contain precarious working conditions, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.
The workers – who include chefs, kitchen helpers, waiting staff and bar attendants – have refused to sign these contracts and the Office of the President has now entered into discussions with a view to renegotiating terms and conditions.
Apart from offering a low hourly rate irrespective of how many hours they work, workers are employed on a casual basis.
The contracts make it clear that it is up to employees to pay their income tax and social security contributions and they will not be entitled to any overtime or allowances even if they work evenings or weekends, Sundays and public holidays.
The conditions also stipulate that presidential office employees will not be paid any sick leave.
The workers – who include chefs, kitchen helpers, waiting staff and bar attendants – have refused to sign these contracts
The contracts, signed on behalf of the President’s Office by John Camilleri – Secretary of the Community Chest Fund – require employees to work “on a flexible as required basis and shall be paid only for the hours worked”.
Industrial relations experts, who were shown these contracts by The Sunday Times of Malta, described them as among the worst work contracts they had ever encountered.
“This is called employment ‘at will’ or ‘hire and fire’. It is a relationship between the Office of the President and a service provider and not an employee. This is highly irregular, even more so when the current government has declared war on precarious work,” one expert said.
“I can’t believe such contracts are coming from the Office of the President. It doesn’t reflect well on the highest office of the island,” a lawyer in the industrial relations field said.
When contacted, a spokeswoman for the office admitted that President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was aware of the complaints, but she pointed out the contracts had not been signed because they were drafted incorrectly.
The spokeswoman added that the Office of the President became aware of the issue before a complaint had reached the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations.
Asked whether Ms Coleiro Preca is investigating who is responsible for these contracts, the President’s spokeswoman said that “this was not needed”.
“The Office of the President is working in close collaboration with the Employment and Training Corporation and the Department of Industrial relations to finalise a concrete proposal.”
The spokeswoman said that a number of meetings had already been held with the workers to discuss the contracts.
However, some workers said that it was only after they reported the issue to the Industrial Relations Department that the President’s Office had told workers that the contracts would be revised.
The President on December 13, 2014:
“Precarious employment is a disease that not only undermines wellbeing, but destroys individuals and families.”
“Precarious employment hinders the level playing field among employers.”
“My appeal is that profit should never outweigh the urgency to give workers what is rightfully theirs; workplaces that assert workers’ dignity.”
Excerpts from a work contract proposed by the President’s Office:
• The casual worker shall work on a flexible ‘as required’ basis and shall be paid only for the hours worked.
• There is no entitlement to any bonus and the rate per hour shall not increase for evenings, weekends and public holidays.
• The casual worker is wholly responsible for all income tax, national insurance and other taxes due, if applicable, as a result of the receipt of the payment fee.
• This post carries no fixed hours per week. Hours of work shall vary depending on the requirements of the Kitchen Garden. Actual hours of work shall be communicated to the casual worker at the point any work is required.
• The casual worker is not entitled to payment during absence due to sickness when arrangements for work have been undertaken by the casual worker.
• The contract will be terminated if the casual worker takes any action that harms the reputation of the Office of the President, MCCF, the Kitchen Garden and any other Foundation or entity set up by the President of Malta.