Education and Employment Minister Louis Galea said the government wanted to put part-time workers’ rights on a sounder footing.

The government wanted a flexible labour market but it also wanted employees to feel secure and be respected.

The government wanted to introduce more laws entitling part-time workers to their rights, and to eliminate work contracts offered on a self employed basis and aiming only to deny part time workers their rights.

He was speaking at a seminar by the Employment and Training Corporation held for employers.

Malta had a high rate of full-time employees when compared to the number of employees who worked part-time, he said. In the EU the rate of part-time workers was of 19 per cent, in Malta it was 10 per cent.

The rate for men in the EU was 7.7, in Malta it was 4.8; for women it was 32.7 in the EU and 21.8 in Malta.

Dr Galea said the government wanted to review the employment and training legislation, enacted 20 years ago, so that the ETC would be in a stronger position and be able to respond to new and ever changing circumstances in the labour and training sectors.

The employment sector was today in a strong position, so much so that there had never been so many who were gainfully occupied.

Almost 140,000 worked full-time, some 20,000 more worked part-time, and there were about 25,000 who worked full-time and also had a part-time job, Dr Galea said.