Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1466490
13 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 MAY 2022 Precarity and Malta's low minimum wage plagues island of plenty LUKE VELLA MALTA enjoys high levels of economic growth and almost full employment, but the island is witnessing a widening of social inequalities with the richest 20% earning 37% of the total income, and the poorest 40% earning on- ly 22% of the total income. On 1 May, Moviment Graffit- ti's Andre Callus said that deci- sive state intervention was des- perately needed to reverse the widening of inequalities and improve workers' wages and conditions. "Increases in the minimum wage could push up all low wages," Callus said, who called declarations by the Labour government that the minimum wage increased in 2017 as a "blatant lie". "The mechanism only pro- vided for meagre wage increas- es for workers on a minimum wage, only after two years in employment. "It is essential to bear in mind that a significant increase in the minimum wage is not on- ly important for workers on a minimum wage, but for all workers on low wages. An in- crease in the minimum wage will automatically push up all low wages," Callus argued. "This is the reason why a min- imum wage increase had been fiercely resisted by employers' organisations." As Malta celebrates the in- ternational day of workers of 1 May, another concern for the island's social development is the precarity suffered by for- eign, non-unionised workers doing so-called platform jobs. The General Workers Union secretary-general Josef Buge- ja, told MaltaToday that the island's army of food couriers were a new class of precarious workers. "I refuse to use such services as I'm aware that the workers' rights are not safeguarded. The number of accidents they are involved in stem from the fact that they have to reach certain quotas in order to make com- mission from the deliveries," Bugeja said. "We are in 2022 and we still hear of stories in the media where injured workers are left on the side road. This is blood money," Bugeja said of other concerns about illegal employ- ment of non-protected workers suffering for shortcomings in health and safety by their em- ployers. Bugeja argued that with un- employment at record lows, no Maltese worker was in compe- tition with foreigners for jobs. "The pressure is currently on wages, as most foreign workers are not unionised and they are paid less than those that are under a collective agreement." Bugeja said the country was dependent on foreign labour and the economy would not sustain itself without them. "On the occasion of Labour day, I want to thank all the workers for being the backbone of our society," Bugeja said. But Andre Callus also said the rules governing residence permits for third-country na- tionals had to be revised, since these placed these workers in a situation of total dependency on their employers. "These rules have led to the exploitation of those workers, who are not in a position to challenge exploitative practic- es or demand better pay and conditions, due to the power that the employer yields over them," Callus said. Bugeja however believes that working conditions for both Maltese and foreign work- ers could be highly improved through mandatory union membership, a GWU propos- al which has been endorsed by the Labour Party. Bugeja played down criticism against the proposal, saying a lot of workplace abuse would be eradicated if all worker were unionised. "With this proposal, union membership would be manda- tory not just for the employ- er but also for the employer. Through an affiliation with a trade union, most abuse against workers would be erad- icated, as rules and regulations hey enforced," Bugeja said. He argues that even issues like the gender pay-gap did not exist where workplaces are un- ionised. "On the other hand, the gender pay-gap averages 19%, wherever workers are not in a trade union." Bugeja played down the idea that it would be impeding on the free choice of the workers, saying the workers would be free to join any union of their choice. Callus too thinks mandato- ry unionisation could poten- tially improve workers' ability to demand better wages and conditions, as long as it was in conformity with Constitutional provisions. But he said employers could easily bypass the law by cre- ating "fake" workers' unions, controlled by bosses, while current unions had their ac- tions limited due to partisan loyalties. "Currently in the construc- tion sector, businesspersons have unlimited power. This industry need serious enforce- ment. Workers' safety goes be- yond the construction indus- try: the authorities are ignoring the conditions of food couriers, who work very long hours and are being paid per delivery. "This can only change if insti- tutions radically shift their ap- proach from one that is geared towards accommodating busi- ness to one that places workers' wellbeing as its priority." lvella@mediatoday.com.mt Top: GWU secretary general Josef Bugeja. Below: Andre Callus, who advocates for higher minimum wages. "The mechanism only provided for meagre wage increases for workers on a minimum wage, only after two years in employment."