Adding public holidays falling on weekends to optional leave should be balanced out with compensatory measures, employers are insisting.

The Malta Employers’ Association yesterday said any changes that would impact leave entitlement, sick leave for parents and paternal leave should be counterbalanced to neutralise their impact on competitiveness.

The government has an electoral mandate to compensate any public holidays falling on a weekend by increasing them to the leave entitlement or shift the holiday to a Monday or Friday.

There are 19 public holidays falling on weekends between 2018 and 2022.

The other measures concerning leave and paternal leave had already started being discussed with employers before the election.

In its proposals for Budget 2018, the MEA called for “a planned approach” to the introduction of these measures that will take into account the impact on employers over the next five years.

Controversially, the MEA also proposed no compensation for the first day of sick leave, something which elicited an immediate negative reaction from the General Workers’ Union. The union said it would not accept any reduction in sick leave conditions.

With employers trying to plug workforce gaps by engaging foreign workers, the MEA called for work permit processes to be streamlined and more resources be allocated to Identity Malta.

The organisation also proposed allowing non-EU nationals the right to work part-time to help them make ends meet

The organisation also proposed allowing non-EU nationals the right to work part-time to help them make ends meet.

The MEA called for a thorough exercise to determine whether the current stock of social housing is being used for its intended purpose.

“The MEA also believes that any entitlement to social housing cannot be permanent and should be subject to a periodical review.

The rent may be revised according to family income,” it said.

On transport, the MEA said the government should intensify incentives for a higher take-up of electric cars through better subsidies and a wider diffusion of charging points.

“Gozo could be an ideal test market for conversion to electric vehicle technology,” it suggested.

To encourage a culture of corporate governance in small businesses, the MEA said government should consider sponsoring non-executive directors to the boards of micro-businesses and start-ups.

‘Notify marijuana use to employer’

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If marijuana is legalised, employers are demanding they know if their workers are consuming it.

This would also apply to those using marijuana for medicinal purposes, according to a proposal made by the Malta Employers’ Association.

While steering away from the debate as to whether marijuana should be legal, the MEA insisted the workplace must be “protected”.

This bizarre proposal sat alongside more rational suggestions such as making smoking of marijuana on the job a cause for instant dismissal.

The MEA said employers should have the right to conduct random drug tests to establish whether employees have smoked at the workplace and also to determine whether they are under the influence.

The measures on marijuana formed part of the Malta Employers’ Association Budget 2018 proposals just released.

Acknowledging that marijuana use was not a budget measure, the MEA said it was habitual to announce social measures during the Budget speech and asked for consultation on the matter.