12
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 9 SEPTEMBER 2026
NEWS
JULIANA
ZAMMIT
jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt
Zminijietna
calls for pay
transparency
action from DIER
THE Left think tank Żmini-
jietna has called on the De-
partment for Industrial and
Employment Relations to
clarify how Malta is enforcing
the new EU pay transparency
rules.
They also called on the de-
partment to confirm wheth-
er vague salary descriptions
breach the new regulations.
"Pay transparency must be
meaningful, not merely a for-
mal right," Voice of the Left
said. "Workers should not be
expected to negotiate their val-
ue without knowing what an
employer is prepared to pay,
nor should they be required to
disclose their previous salary."
Malta transposed the EU
Equal Pay (Transparency and
Reporting) Regulations in No-
vember 2026, joining five oth-
er Member States in doing so.
The regulations require em-
ployers to give job applicants
information on the initial pay
or pay range for a position be-
fore recruitment is concluded.
Under the new rules, job ad-
verts cannot use descriptions
such as "competitive salary",
"competitive salary package"
or "salary depending on expe-
rience" without stating an ac-
tual salary or pay range.
The NGO is asking DIER to
clarify whether such practices
comply with Regulation 4 and
at what stage in the recruit-
ment process an employer
must disclose the actual salary.
They are particularly con-
cerned about employers who
withhold pay information
when applicants ask for it di-
rectly, only disclosing figures
after an interview.
They affirmed their call for
DIER to issue clear guidance
to both employers and workers
and to actively monitor com-
pliance with the regulations.
"Workers should not have to
negotiate without knowing the
salary on offer," it added.
