Criticism about the plight of precarious workers in Malta’s state hospitals has led to the government setting up a board of inquiry into their pay and conditions. Similar complaints have already been made this year by unions and some political parties, but the government decided to act after Opposition health spokesperson Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said the treatment of subcontracted care workers was in breach of the law. She has been backed by the General Workers’ Union.
Background
There have been several attempts to highlight the conditions of precarious workers in Malta. Toni Zarb, Secretary General of the General Workers’ Union (GWU), has raised the issue several times, as has the Green Party Alternattiva Demokratika (AD), which said on 1 May 2011 that no serious efforts are being made to curb the abuses borne by vulnerable workers, such as immigrants. The Maltese movement Voice of the Left (Żminijietna) has also condemned the Maltese employers’ associations for their lack of action against the prevalence of precarious work in Malta, and appealed to the government to work with the trade unions to address this issue.
However, nothing was done until Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, the health spokesperson of the Malta Labour Party (PL), the party in opposition, held a press conference highlighting the plight of healthcare workers in state hospitals. She reported that the conditions of work and pay of the employees of the hospitals’ subcontracting companies do not comply with Maltese employment law. She stated that these workers are being paid €3.80 per hour normally, and €7.45 per hour on public holidays and Sundays. She added that these employees, whether working full time or part time, are not entitled to sick leave or leave following an accident, and have only 12 days of annual holiday which can be taken only as a block of two days in any one month. She also said that those employees who encouraged fellow workers to unionise were fired. Referring to a statement made by the Ministry of Health, which stated that the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) investigates all complaints, Ms Coleiro Preca remarked that the employees do not dare to report these abuses because they are afraid of management reprisals.
In response to this, the government has set up a board of inquiry to look into the employment conditions of these healthcare workers and to ‘ensure that all necessary steps are taken if irregularities are found’. The Ministry of Health says the board will summon those who might have any information about the allegations that have been made, will take sworn evidence and will collect all necessary documents. The government further stated that DIER will also look into the conditions of work of these employees, even though it has not received any formal complaints from the workers.
The daily newspaper The Horizon (l-orizzont), owned by GWU, accused the government of being the perpetrator of these abuses because although it appoints members to the boards that evaluate tenders by sub-contractors, it does not give them the power to investigate these companies’ employment conditions. The Horizon referred to a case where a board confirmed the award of a tender to a subcontracting company, in spite of evidence provided by DIER that the company’s employees were being paid less than the minimum wage.
Commentary
The findings of the board of inquiry set up by the Ministry of Health and its subsequent actions may encourage whistle-blowers to reveal abusive conditions of work for immigrants in other sectors such as construction and cleaning. GWU is hoping that the outcome of the case may help remove the fear of reprisals that currently deters workers from becoming trade union members.
Saviour Rizzo, Centre for Labour Studies