Social Policy Minister Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said today that treating sick leave as a concession rather than a right, would be “a step backwards”.

She was commenting in the wake of the statement issued yesterday by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry which expressed its objection to the government’s proposal for parents to take their sick leave to attend to their children if they were unwell.

The Chamber said that said that such concession would serve to erode further Malta’s competitiveness and potential for growth. Controversially the chamber said that sick leave is “a concession and not a right” adding that it came at a cost to the employer and should not be exploited or trivialised. The Chamber argued that in such situations employees had the option to use vacation leave.

Asked for her reaction by timesofmalta.com, Ms Coleiro Preca described such an argument a step backwards. “God forbid if we go back to that situation” she said.

Regarding the proposal itself she said that employers should look at the bigger picture, saying that everyone would ultimately benefit from family friendly measures, including employers as the economy would do better.

Asked about the impact of such a measure on small businesses, the Social Policy Minister said that the government was open to discuss the matter, urging employers to make valid proposals.