The Malta Employers’ Association proposals in relation to sick leave are something discussed over a coffee and not proposals that should be put into practice, an irate Union Haddiema Maghqudin Josef Vella told this newsroom.

Earlier this week, the MEA said that workers who were hung over or suffered other self-inflicted conditions such as sunstroke should not be entitled to paid sick leave.

The MEA has suggested that employees should no longer be able to take sick leave after a ‘5am Paceville session’ or if they plan on undergoing cosmetic surgery.

In response, the General Workers’ Union questioned whether the MEA’s proposals meant that smokers with lung cancer should not be granted sick leave, since it is self-inflicted.

“If they want a long, hot summer, we are ready for it,” GWU secretary-general Tony Zarb warned.

Mr Zarb also said that employees should be given back the public holidays falling on weekends “that have been stolen from them.”

The Forum Unions Maltin said that the proposals go against the interests and basic rights of employees and defeat the concept of sick leave by attempting to “decide” which conditions are God-sent and which are inflicted by man.

The Forum maintains that, in its proposals, the MEA has conveniently omitted safeguards for the rights of female employees regarding maternity benefits. According to the statistics of the NSO, of the 2,000 female employees who become pregnant in the private sector on average every year, only 900 eventually receive maternity benefits. This means that 1,100 female employees are eventually discharged from work under some pretext.

Mr Vella told this newsroom: “The proposals are taking us back three giant steps and go against the Jobs Plus proposals which aim to increase productivity.”

He questioned why the MEA issued the proposals two weeks after the unions issued a joint declaration that they would work hand in hand, highlighting the fact that the MEA did the opposite and failed to consult with trade unions beforehand.

“These proposals are intended for workers across the board. Why should all employees be treated in the same way, when not all employees abuse sick leave?

“Shouldn’t such issues be micro-managed by the management of a company,” he asked.

“The MEA proposals show that the situation has spiralled out of their control and is therefore proposing across the board rules,” he said.

On the issue of public holidays raised by the GWU, Mr Vella said: “If the country is on the right track in terms of productivity, why not give employees their public holidays back?

“What we are ready to discuss are measures that increase productivity,” he said.