An urgent meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development is taking place today in the shadow of a dispute that erupted yesterday between employers and unions over a claim for compensation to workers.
The MCESD meeting was requested by the General Workers’ Union and the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin earlier this week when the higher prices of fuel and gas came into force .
However, the meeting was pre-empted yesterday by unions calling for compensation to families and employers warning against any additional wage increases to those determined by the official mechanism, which set the amount at €1.16 per week for this year.
The Malta Employers’ Association said it would instruct members not to pay out any additional cost of living increases even if these were forced upon them by the government.
“There have already been precedents in the recent past when employers were forced to pay more than what was stipulated in the COLA (cost of living adjustment) agreement. This will not happen again this year,” the MEA warned.
The organisation was reacting to comments made earlier in a press briefing by the trade union group Għaqda Unions Maltin – made up of Forum, the 11-union block, and the GWU – calling on the government to compensate families with an energy allowance. Speaking on behalf of all the unions, GWU general secretary Tony Zarb said the energy allowance should not be lower than last year’s one-off payment tofamilies.
Mr Zarb said in today’s MCESD meeting his union would be putting forward the proposals unanimously agreed by GħUM members.
In a common position, the unions, which claim to represent 63 per cent of unionised workers, called for the COLA mechanism to be calculated on the average wage rather than the social wage, which is lower.
This would mean a higher increase in wages.
The unions also called for the weightings of the retail price index to be changed to reflect modern-day realities. According to the umbrella group, utility bills, gas and fuels only had a weighting of slightly more than three per cent in the index used to calculate the COLA.
The unions said they would wait for the outcome of the MCESD meeting before deciding what course of action to take.
“The government should use the meeting as an opportunity to reach an agreement with the social partners. The outcome of the meeting means a lot to us and the workers we represent,” GħUM president John Bencini said.
The €1.16 weekly wage compensation awarded this year, he added, was gobbled up by the fuel increases.
Mr Bencini criticised the government for getting its priorities wrong when it opted to give ministers a €600 weekly wage increase, build a new Parliament and buy the costly smart meters.
Quoting recent EU statistics that showed more people were at risk of poverty, he said the government should focus on combatting this phenomenon.
Diesel was 25 per cent higher than January last year while petrol cost 18 per cent more. The latest gas increases meant the popular 12kg cylinder now cost 52 per cent more than what it did last year. The energy increases were followed by higher prices for fresh milk announced by Benna on Wednesday.
Mr Bencini reiterated an invitation to other unions to join the organisation to put forward their concerns in one strong voice. “If we do so, the government will listen more to our appeal,” he said.
When asked whether the unions would be taking part in the demonstration organised by the Labour Party next week, both Mr Zarb and Mr Bencini said every union was free to take its own decisions on the matter.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com