New criteria for government tenders are to be issued by the Ministry for Social Dialogue next week in a bid to get rid of precarious and unethical employment, minister Helena Dalli said this morning.

Speaking during the general conference of the GWU's Section for Professionals and Financial Services, she said that during investigations, hte government came across cases where no law was being broken but the work conditions were not adequate.

"We will issue criteria for new tenders that go beyond the law to close some loopholes. These criteria will be applied to new tenders that are granted to private contractors employing people in the government sector," she sadi.

These regulations include issuing employees with a payslip, and direct deposit of salary in a bank account to have a clear audit trail. If the contractor does not follow these rules the tender will be stopped.

The conference was closed by Secretary Tony Zarb who appealed to workers who suffered injustices to come forth with their complaints.

One of the speakers at the conference was BOV Chairman John Cassar White, who urged employers to engage with unions when it came to ongoing training.

"It's a tragedy when a 45-year-old becomes obsolete because the last training he had was 15 years ago. It is the employers' obligation to make sure that workers are trained continuously," he said.

Parliamentary Secretary Edward Zammit Lewis insisted on the importance of lifelong learning in the financial sector.

He also urged stakeholders to work together, noting that a failing in the local mentality is that everyone thought only of themselves.