A number of parishes have joined complaints that workers assigned to them as part of a jobs scheme often did not turn up for work.

Representatives of four local councils voiced similar complaints in comments to Times of Malta on Wednesday.

They said that workers tasked to do works as part of the scheme, administered by a General Workers’ Union foundation, were often not showing up for work or doing little when they bothered clocking in. 

Sources close to the Church said similar problems were being experienced in a number of parishes.

“Parish churches have these workers too and, really, they are a nightmare,” one source said.

Parish churches have these workers too and, really, they are a nightmare

The parish indicated were mostly located in Gozo and people contacted by Times of Malta confirmed they had problems with workers that had been seconded to them but would do little or no work at all.

“We’ve had workers from this scheme and we’ve even had workers seconded to us from the [Gozo] ministry. And they are useless. The worst is that if you attract their attention to it they either ignore you or in some instances even threaten you,” a Gozitan parish priest said.

He said that the scheme participants were expected to do work at sites like cemeteries, however, on inspection the places were still found to be in a state of abandon.

The multimillion-euro scheme was entrusted to the GWU foundation by Jobsplus in 2015 and the aim was to employ those who had been jobless for a number of years.

Through the scheme, about 600 people were struck off the unemployment register and given mostly maintenance work at government schools and local councils. Participants receive about €750 a month.

The Education and Employment Ministry, which is politically responsible for the scheme, acknowledged that some workers were slacking off.

Workers within the scheme who were not found at their place of work by inspectors following reports by councils or during routine checks had a day from their vacation leave deducted.

A spokesman for the GWU foundation said the initiative had given opportunities to many who would have otherwise been unemployed.

It had also been of great help to the entities where the employees had been deployed. He  hailed the “tangible benefits” to hundreds of families who now enjoyed a stable income and full-time indefinite employment through the scheme.

ivan.martin@timesofmalta.com

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