Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1479276
12 OPINION Failing to enact the new Equality Act leaves workers vulnerable to abuse NO worker should be denied a job because of the colour of their skin, the religion they practise, or the gender they identify with. No person should be denied a service because of their age, their politics, or their nation- ality. While these statements seem obvious, the Maltese law does not seem to wholly agree due to the many loopholes that allow employers to discriminate against workers without conse- quence. In theory, there are laws that prevent this form of abuse. In practice, the current equality legal framework has numerous problems. In order to meet the minimum criteria of EU direc- tives, provisions and legal no- tices were patched in over the years, leading to contradictory definitions, incoherent provi- sions, and, overall, a very weak law that does not provide effec- tive redress to victims of dis- crimination. In 2015, then Minister Helena Dalli proposed two bills, namely the Equality Bill and the Human Rights and Equality Commission Bill, in order to address these weaknesses and ensure decent protection from discrimina- tion. After lengthy discussions and consultations, former Par- liamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar tabled the bills in Parlia- ment in 2019. However, the pro- cess leading to their enactment stalled after the bills encoun- tered fierce opposition from employers' associations, parts of the Church, and ultra-conserv- ative elements within the med- ical profession. The bills were eventually dropped as the Prime Minister called an election, forc- ing Parliament to dissolve. Powerful entities with copious financial resources and extensive networks among the traditional elite used their influence to stop a legal reform that would have challenged their privileges and held everyone accountable for abusive behaviour. Discrimination is apparent in various spheres of employment, both on an individual level and on a structural one. When it comes to recruitment, studies found that even with an identical CV, women, migrants, and peo- ple from minority groups have a lower chance of being called for an interview. Additionally, when in employment, people from these groups often have lower pay, worse work conditions, are less likely to be given promo- tions, and are more likely to be harassed in the workplace. While all workers can experi- ence injustice and exploitation, historically, the exploitation of workers has rested heavily on the devaluation of certain social groups – such as women, mi- grants, and young persons – who are expected to settle for inferior pay and work conditions, and to stay mum when they face abuse. In fact, the minimum wage for those under 18 is still less than the national minimum wage. De- spite all the progress made in the last few years, women still earn less than men. Migrants are still forced to work illegally due to lack of documentation. All these issues put these social groups in a position where it is more likely for them to experience injustice and exploitation. The new equality law would have started to seriously ad- dress this inequality in a tar- geted manner that goes beyond the very general and often inef- fective provision in the current employment legislation. For ex- ample, the new law would have allowed people to request and receive information on why they were not given a job or why they were denied promotions. It would have also created an Equality Board that would pro- vide speedy and effective reme- dies through binding decisions, the imposition of penalties and interim measures, as well as the awarding of compensation if necessary. All of this is absent under the current law. All workers will benefit from a strengthened Equality law. As an example, all teachers will benefit when church schools are denied the right to discriminate against their staff. All employ- ees will benefit when employ- ers are forced to be transparent and provide information when it comes to who they employ and who gets promoted. The failed enactment of a new equality law has left workers, especially the most vulnerable ones, with min- imal protection against discrim- ination. As is often the case, this is a fight between the many that will benefit from the law and the privileged few who continue to resist accountability. It is the thousands of workers against the few employers who put women and minority groups at a dis- advantage in the workplace. It is the many teachers against the top management of certain Church schools that want to have control over, and interfere in, the private life and personal opinions of their employees. Since 2015, when the discus- sion about reforming the equali- ty law commenced, Government recognised that the current legal framework is totally inadequate to effectively deal with discrim- ination and abuse. Nothing has changed since. Based on this recognition, the Equality Bill and the Human Rights and Equality Commission Bill should be presented imme- diately to Parliament when it reopens – strengthened, not wa- tered-down – and enacted in the shortest time possible. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 SEPTEMBER 2022 Our conscious price stability policy decision comes with a hefty cost to public coffers but the stark reality is that it would have been much more costly for our people, for our families and our businesses to carry the financial burden upon themselves Claria Cutajar is a member of Moviment Graffitti Claria Cutajar