Updated at 2.25pm with MHRA reaction
A blanket provision to compensate Sunday and public holiday work with double and triple pay, respectively, will increase costs unnecessarily, employers argue.
Malta Employers’ Association director general Joe Farrugia said a one-size-fits-all approach as suggested by the General Workers’ Union did not distinguish between different job realities.
The union made the proposal last Monday, when it unveiled its wish list for Budget 2018.
Mr Farrugia said overtime is paid according to the wage regulation orders that cater for different circumstances. “We should continue adopting those rules, because workplace conditions are not homogeneous and adopting a blanket measure could increase costs unnecessarily,” he said.
Mr Farrugia said there were workplaces where employees worked on a day-night, rest-off rolling roster that incorporated Sundays as part of the 40-hour working week. “Workers appreciate this type of roster because it gives them ample time off, and in this case it would not make sense to have double pay for the Sundays,” he explained.
The GWU said double and triple pay for work on Sundays and public holidays should be enshrined at law so all workers benefit. The union made the proposal as one way to continue the fight against precarious employment, especially in the private sector.
Read: GWU wants double pay for Sunday work enshrined in law
“We have workers being paid double on a Sunday, while others doing the same job are being paid normal hourly rates because they are employed through contractors,” GWU general secretary Josef Bugeja said at the press conference launching the document.
He also mentioned people who are employed in the catering and hospitality sector who were also not compensated with higher rates for working on Sundays and public holidays.
However, the union’s proposal goes beyond the particular circumstances raised by Mr Bugeja, covering all workers.
This is something employers are not keen on, and they would rather retain the current system.
“Any such move would have to be studied in depth, but I see no reason why costs should increase because of a blanket measure that ignores different job realities,” Mr Farrugia said.
This is not the first instance of employers and unions going head-to-head on Budget proposals. Employers have expressed concern over the government pledge to reintroduce, after a lapse of 12 years, a provision to compensate for public holidays that fall on a weekend through additional vacation leave.
Similarly, unions came down hard on a proposal floated by the MEA to cut payment for the first day of sick leave as a means to curb abuse.
MHRA rebuts Sunday compensation idea
The Malta Hotels and Restaurant Association has also rebutted the GWU's idea, saying that the hospitality industry model depended on the work generated at weekends and on festive days, and at times when clients have their time off.
“A lot of business is performed during such days and times and therefore can only be considered normal working time and definitely not extraordinary in nature,” it said, adding that the sector represents 25 per cent of GDP.
It also warned that the sector should not be tampered with, noting that it operates in “highly dynamic and sensitive market conditions”.
“The hospitality industry cannot be taken for granted and changes to the economics driving the industry could have a very undesirable significant impact.”