The General Workers Union has called for pension adjustments to the maximum pension in its proposals for the upcoming budget.
A union representative said that the union focused its proposals on employment and related conditions, the maritime sector, housing, pensions, Gozo, young people, education, healthcare, culture, the environment and the social sector.
While all the proposals are important in order to improve living conditions, the representative said they would be satisfied if the government, in the upcoming budget, includes the proposals relating to pensions, work conditions and housing.
In terms of pensions, while the union appreciates the recent increases “after many years where the only increase came from the COLA, we expect the government to, aside from increasing the minimum pension so that more pensioners can avoid the poverty line, start the process to adjust the maximum pension”. The union said this should be done in order for pensions to better reflect today’s realities, and be closer to the standard of living most pensioners had when they part of the workforce.
In terms of housing, the GWU wants the government to incorporate its proposals regarding the rent market. “We believe the time has come for the rent market to have more clear regulations which, while permitting a fair income for property owners, this same income would not be based on rents that do not reflect the increase in today’s wages. In this context, the GWU has put forward proposals regarding clear regulations that owners must observe in order to be able to rent out their property, while also presenting financial and administrative safeguards so that tenants would not end up victims of exploitation by unscrupulous landlords.”
As regards work, the GWU expects the government to understand the need for workers to not remain subject to discrimination in their job just because they work with different employers. “We believe the government should introduce our request for the equal pay for work of equal value principle to be expanded and tied to the type of job workers do, irrespective of whether they are employed by the same employer or not.”
Lastly, the union’s representative said, the GWU hopes the government will accept the proposal put forward in the National Congress, in which Secretary General Josef Bugeja asked government to include a budgetary measure for all workers to become members of trade unions of their choosing.
The GWU said that both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition reacted well to this proposal, “and this is why we expect that there be an indication as to the timeframes for discussions to start regarding the implementation of this proposal in the budget”.