A Magistrates’ Court has called upon state entities to join forces and present a united front in combatting malpractices at the workplace which compromised not only employees but also the State.
In a strongly-worded judgment, Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, presiding over a Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) sitting, hit out at abusive practices which not only deprived workers of their lawful rights but also robbed the State of its dues.
Department inspectors who uncovered such practices had a “civic duty” to inform other competent authorities, including the Commissioner for Revenue, the Social Security Department as well as the police, the court declared, deploring the shortsightedness of workers who sometimes went along with such malpractices without realising that at the end of the day they could possibly end up missing out on a more favourable pension.
Social benefits, particularly related to education and health, depended on such fiscal contributions by taxpayers, the court remarked.
It was only through a concerted effort to fight such malpractices tooth and nail, that any abuse could be effectively eradicated, Magistrate Frendo Dimech insisted, urging the competent authorities to embark upon media campaigns tailored to inform workers of their rights.
Such educational campaigns should also serve to put unwary employees on their guard against unlawful and abusive practices which might be encountered at the workplace, the court went on.
She even suggested the setting up of an online register wherein the names of any employer or business enterprise, found guilty of the infringement of employment legislation, might be listed.
This would in itself serve as a deterrent, the court observed whilst delivering judgment against Sabri Abdelaziz Khalifa, the owner of a kebab restaurant found guilty of having failed to pay his former employee all due wages and benefits.
The case was flagged to the DIER by the employee who claimed to have been unjustly dismissed by his boss without being duly compensated, after having worked long hours as manager, chef and counter assistant for a number of weeks, even helping the owner with preparations leading to the opening of the business.
During that time, the worker was never registered on the company books, with the boss showing a reluctance to regularise his position each time the employee broached the subject, the court heard.
Complaints about being understaffed also went unheeded, with the three-strong team of workers averaging 12 hours a day with just one day off per week, the employee testified in court, his evidence corroborated by other evidence put forward by the prosecution.
The employer also testified, insisting that he had dismissed the worker because he had been careless in his duties, always engrossed in his tablet while at work.
He had dismissed him with immediate effect since he feared some act of sabotage if he had been allowed to stay on during the notice period, the employer claimed.
However, on the basis of all evidence put forward, the court concluded that the prosecution had sufficiently proved its case, thereby condemning the accused to pay a €1,000 fine.
The man was also ordered to settle outstanding payments owed to his former employee once these were calculated accurately by the DIER.
The court ordered a copy of the judgment to be delivered to the Director of Industrial and Employment Relations and the Commissioner for Revenue.
Inspector Sylvana Zrinzo Azzopardi prosecuted.