The General Workers’ Union welcomed employment amendments, which will come into effect by means of a legal notice, affecting workers whose primary income is from part-time work.

The union said that from Sunday, part-time workers doing more than eight hours of work each week would be entitled to pro rata benefits linked to leave, sick leave and other benefits which full-time employees were entitled to.

This measure was expected to eliminate many abuses which were possible because as the law stood, certain benefits were only available for part-timers who worked more than 20 hours a week. There were employees who worked less than 20 hours a week with different companies of the same owner who were missing out, even if in all they were working more than 40 hours.

This was a common practice in the security sector, the GWU said, adding it had been pointing this out and even raised the subject with the Prime Minister, suggesting how the matter could be resolved.