The Malta Employers Association and the Chamber of Commerce have come out against a proposal to give workers all their public holidays back.
The MEA said workers already had enough public holidays and the Chamber argued that reverting back to the old system would reduce productivity.
The two institutions were asked for a reaction after the General Workers Union, in its budget proposals, said the public holidays system should be reverted back to the way it was in 2005.
Back then, public holidays which fell on a weekend were added to the workers’ yearly leave allocation. But in 2005, against the backdrop of an economic slump, the PN administration had decided that these holidays would be forfeited. This was supposed to be a temporary measure but, 11 years down the line the situation remains the same. Malta has 14 national and public holidays.
GWU Secretary General Josef Bugeja said yesterday that the economic scenario has changed significantly since 2005 and it was high time to give workers these holidays back, even if gradually.
But the employer’s association disagreed. Mr Farrugia said recently published statistics put Malta among the countries with the highest number of public holidays in the EU. “The numbers speak for themselves,” Mr Farrugia said. “While we acknowledge the need to find a balance between work and rest we have to remain competitive. I see no reason why these holidays should be given back.”
Asked if the country afforded to give some holidays back now that the country was doing much better economically, Mr Farrugia said it made no sense to revise the public holiday system every few years, according to the economic circumstances.
The MEA Director General added: “There are a number of private companies that can afford to give their employees more leave days than average but this is not the case for all businesses and we shouldn’t put these at risk.”
Chamber President Anton Borg said this was a closed chapter. “It is most unhealthy to drag issues out of the past, that have been settled and concluded for more than ten years. Re-introducing the compensation of vacation leave for public holidays that fall on a weekend, will directly affect the country's productivity and by consequence its competitiveness.”
Mr Borg said the 2005 measure had let to a 3% increase in productivity, something which would be lost if this is reversed. “The Malta Chamber is very vociferous to advocate in favour of competitiveness, as it is the only key with which, the country can assure more investment and the generation of jobs through economic growth,” Mr Borg said.