Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1122280
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 MAY 2019 A phone call interrupts our conver- sation: "You can choose any girl and she will be working with you for eight hours," Kavaji commands someone on the other side of the line. "She can work on the moon, in Ozo building or with you, it doesn't matter. If she refuses, she's up for a penalty!" Alas, Kavaji does not seem too concerned about the employee's well-being. Lis- tening to her speak, I cannot but sym- pathise with the worker who is treated as a mere tool and whose sentiments are completely ignored. But I am not surprised: to any corporation, employees are a mere resource to profit from. Bizarrely, Kavaji goes as far as blaming workers for the p o o r w a g e s t h e y earn. Ac- cording to her, salaries remain low due to workers' own desire to engage in undeclared work for a slightly higher pay – and not the employers' reluctance to pay employees bet- ter. She sounds perplexed and e x a s p e r a t e d speaking about 'ungrateful' in- dividuals wait- ing at tables ir- regularly – and uninsured – in Paceville for a clean cash of €5.50-€6.60 per hour. "Isn't toil- ing obediently at Ozo- Group for the lavish pay of €5.08 plus governmental bonuses good enough?" she genuinely wonders. It does not cross her mind that an hourly pay of €5.08 is tremendously low to begin with. " I f y o u s e e m to agree that foreign workers are the real cause of meagre wages, then per- haps Ozo's foreign employees should be sent away to allow the Maltese earn more," I tell Kavaji provocative- ly, barely hiding my contempt. She shakes her head again. Maltese do not want these kind of jobs, she insists. Apparently, most of Maltese youth are simply too spoilt by the government's generosity and so are not hard-pressed to waitress or wash dishes for peanuts. Maltese waiters are so rare, I learn, that they have become a status symbol for a venue that employs them. The workers Having an open conversation with the workers about their experiences, mutual support and working condi- tions proved to be a tough task. With Kavaji supervising every attempt at a discussion, the employees clearly hesi- tated to utter anything but praise for the company. Doris, Jennifer and Anna work to- gether and appreciate each other's ef- forts: "We are friends and every day we eat together," they say. Although most of the time they communicate in English, Doris and other Maltese col- leagues have taught the Filipinas a few Maltese words. "For me, everybody is the same," Doris says as to whether or not she feels comfortable to cooperate with persons from so many different countries. All of OzoGroup's personnel are members of the General Workers' Union. "And what if they decide to strike?" I turn to Kavaji. Once again, she seems taken aback by my question: "They never wanted to strike! Why would they do that? They earn more than a minimum wage!" To demand higher wages, I say, underlin- ing that strikes are a tried and tested method of lobbying for better work- ing conditions and that unions indeed have an upper hand in collective bar- gaining. "Why would they strike? They earn more than a minimum wage!" Kavaji says. "Obviously, we have a collective agreement with the union," interjects Wesley Zammit, general manager of OzoMalta. "If we do not abide by its conditions, the union would call for a strike, but I can assure you this would never happen," he says with a smile. Kavaji nods with satisfaction: "I do not see any signs of a revolution behind the door." On my way out, I pass by an inter- national team of construction work- ers plastering the walls. In their own words, the Romanian, Serbian, Mace- donian and Ghanian all work perfectly fine together. "Ghana is the best!" a worker from Romania laughs, teasing his African colleague. Low wages? Blame it on employers... and unions! The case of OzoGroup is a stark ex- ample of how elusive a division be- tween a Maltese and a foreigner truly is: both the managerial and the regular employees seem to work well in multi- ethnic teams. Yet, a division between labourers and managers is profound and undeniable. Although I did not succeed in speaking about matters of mutual support and solidarity with workers, the visit clari- fied how the private sector employer does indeed treat its workers as mere tools, expecting immense gratitude for the poor, slightly above the minimun, remuneration. Centuries of capitalism should have taught us that private employers prior- itise profit above workers' well-being. It goes without saying that no employ- er would raise wages unless they are pressed to. Moreover, employers con- tinuously undermine workers' solidar- ity by promoting a select few, thus en- couraging competition between them. The way to secure a better pay is at hand, however. Since all of Ozo- Group's 2,000 employees, Maltese and foreign, are unionised, the General Workers' Union could oblige the em- ployer to pay higher salaries. It could resort to the tried and tested means of collective bargaining, such as calling for a strike. Undoubtedly, the striking service workers would make a much greater impact on hoteliers' and res- taurateurs' decision than a polite cam- paign for a higher minimum wage the union is running on social media. Clearly, workers, Maltese and for- eign, are sacrificing their well-being and quality of life on the altar of Mal- ta's economic miracle. Higher wages, the business lobby cautions, would necessarily hammer the economic growth and drive the country into disarray. The role of trade unions, however, is to defend workers' rights and well-being – and not growth which preys on their efforts. Unfortunately, trade unions are an- other culprit of this plight. With their strong affiliation with either Labour or Nationalist Party – which are com- peting for the affection of tycoons and smaller enterprises alike – both the General Workers' Union and the UHM seem to be entirely complacent with brazen exploitation, serving the corporate interests way better than defending workers' rights. The author is editor of online maga- zine IslesOfTheLeft.org, and express- es gratitude to the General Workers' Union for their assistance in gaining access to the company's premises NEWS Clockwise from left: George (right) is a manager of Serbian origin who started out as a cleaner, and is seen speaking to one of the housekeeping workers. Brian, Tatjana and George are OzoGroup's managers Workers from Ghana, Romania, Macedonia and Serbia From left to right: Doris, Jennifer and Anna, OzoGroup's cleaning personnel PHOTOS RAISA GALEA