Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1048856
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 7 NOVEMBER 2018 6 NEWS ANALYSIS IN his Budget speech last week Prime Minister Joseph Muscat urged a discussion on the pos- sibility of introducing manda- tory membership in both trade unions and employers' associa- tions. The proposal originally made by the General Workers Union was aimed at addressing "pre- carious work, abuse and exploi- tation of employees." The proposal has already been shot down by the Malta Em- ployers' Association, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, En- terprise and Industry, and the Malta Hotels and Res- taurants Association stressed that the decision to join a union or organi- sation should be left entirely up to the individ- ual employee or company. The business bod- ies insisted that freedom of association implies also the freedom "to disassociate one- self from either a trade union or employer organisation". Union membership not a real choice for many But compulsory trade union membership may well address the plight of the most vulner- able categories of workers who fear leaving a bad impression with their boss upon joining a trade union. "The argument that being a member of a union should be up to the individual employee who can decide freely whether or not to become a member, is in theory reasonable, but it does not hold for many workers in lower income brackets who do not really enjoy such freedom," social justice activist Micheal Grech told MaltaToday. According to Grech many of these are not unionised not because they don't want to join forces collectively, but because of their precarious employ- ment conditions and the "im- plicit or not so implicit perils" unionisation might imply re- garding their employment. In short these workers do not join a union simply because they are afraid of losing their job. Grech compares the need for compulsory union membership to other legislation like the one stipulating a minimum wage. "Why does the law stipulate a minimum wage, and hence im- ply that such freedom does not extend to asking/receiving a pay lower than is stipulated by this?" The answer to this is that the legislator has rightly assumed that "such unbridled freedom will in many cases imply abuse and employers taking advan- tage of employees in precari- ous situation, with the latter 'freely' agreeing for any starva- tion wages they cannot refuse". Grech describes this scenario as "Dickensian." Free riding on the union? Industrial relations expert Godfrey Baldacchino gives an- other reason why all employees should pay the equivalent of a union membership fee – the fact that both members and non- members benefit from the ne- gotiations carried out by a trade union or business chamber. "Why shouldn't workers be obliged to pay the equivalent of a trade union membership fee when they do not wish to join a union?" he asks. For Baldacchino the straw that breaks the camel's back is that while trade unions negoti- ate with employers on behalf of their members, the outcome of their negotiations, as manifest in collective agreements, are enjoyed by the whole work- force, irrespective of whether they are union members or not. "Hence the temptation for non-union members to 'piggy back' or 'free ride' on their un- ion member colleagues. Only the latter pay their union dues; the rest don't, but they still en- joy negotiated wage increases, bonuses, etc., anyway." But while some workers take The power in the After being touted in his Budget speech by the Prime Minister, JAMES DEBONO examines if membership in trade unions for workers and for businesses in business chambers should be compulsory Why does the law stipulate a minimum wage, and hence imply that such freedom does not extend to asking/ receiving a pay lower than is stipulated by this? Michael Grech