Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1461072
9 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday. The newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EDITOR: PAUL COCKS BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 T he Labour Party is pledging in its electoral manifesto to ini- tiate a discussion with social partners on mandatory union mem- bership for workers. e party is saying that it agrees in principle with this proposal, origi- nally floated by the General Work- ers' Union and picked up in a more nuanced way by the UĦM – Voice of the Workers. Prime Minister Robert Abela and Finance Minister Clyde Caruana have explained that the rationale behind the proposal is to give low salaried workers protection on the shop floor through mandatory union membership. e proposal may be well inten- tioned but it flies in the face of the right to freedom of association en- shrined in the Constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights. Forcing every worker to join a union breaches the fundamental premise that a person has the right to choose freely whether to join an association and if so cannot be impeded from doing so. Malta's laws already make it illegal for an employer to stop their workers from joining a union. is makes the proposal being floated by the Labour Party futile at the very least and re- pressive at its worst. If there is abuse, it should be tackled at source and directly with errant em- ployers. e department of industrial and employment relations should be beefed up with enforcement officers to be able to act swiftly and effective- ly when a case of abuse is flagged. If need be, laws offering workers pro- tection should be beefed up. Government may also introduce onerous social obligations on com- panies that compete for public con- tracts to encourage bidders to raise their standards. But another problem with making union membership mandatory is the fact that it could make unions more complacent or more unreasonable in their demands. is could have a crippling effect on the economy. Earlier this week, Chamber of Com- merce President Marisa Xuereb told the Finance Minister during a debate that mandatory union membership may shatter social dialogue and in- dustrial peace. is leader believes that is too high a price to pay for a questionable proposal. Malta does not need to go down this slippery slope that breaches human rights and has strong undertones of a totalitarian regime. If there are problems in the way workers are treated in certain eco- nomic sectors – and there are problems – these should be tack- led through targeted measures and proper enforcement of existing leg- islation. Going for the steamroller approach will only backfire and create unnec- essary problems. While it is posi- tive that the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister have insisted on holding talks with the Malta Coun- cil for Economic and Social Devel- opment on the proposal, this leader feels it is a non-starter and should be scrapped. If anything, existing laws governing industrial and employment relations should be reviewed and adjourned to reflect modern-day realities and dif- ficulties. It is in the interest of the wider economy and businesses that worker conditions are optimal, which is why social dialogue and industrial peace remain key cornerstones of Malta's economic environment. No to mandatory union membership 17.3.2022