GWU general secretary Tony Zarb made employment, and particularly precarious jobs in Malta, the theme of his address to the International Labour Conference in Geneva. A new social class – the class of the working poor – has been created in Malta, he said.

The greatest impact of the global economic situation has fallen on the workers who were made to shoulder the worst consequences with little or no hope of reaping the benefits of such a system.

Surprisingly enough, the economic globalisation of our planet has produced unmatched wealth and resources, but at the same time triggered wider income gaps between and within countries and also undermined the workers’ rights and their conditions of work.

“The economic instability that is shaking Europe and the growing social inequalities worldwide are yet another proof that globalisation and the free market it produced are no longer able to generate prosperity,” he said.

“Instead of economic stability and growth, we are seeing precarious employment spreading faster and a total disrespect to the workers’ rights and their working conditions. It seems that eating away at the workers’ rights is the only imaginable medicine to cure the world’s economic ills.”

Mr Zarb said that as trade unionists they believe that the solutions do not lie in measures of austerity but in growth based on investment, on active labour policies that respect the fundamental principles and the rights at work.

Malta, he said, has experienced a sharp rise in precarious employment, especially in the services sector, and a total disregard to the workers’ rights at work, so much so that working conditions go below the provisions of our labour laws.

“Consequently, poverty is spreading fast and reaching even middle-class families. As a matter of fact, the latest official statistics show that there are 21.2% of Maltese families that cannot cope with the daily expenses for a decent living, partly due to precarious employment and partly to the heavy social burdens they have been carrying for these last few years so much so that we saw the birth of a new social class – the class of the working poor.”

Mr Zarb said the Maltese government seems more happy to boast of the number of new jobs created across industry. On the other hand, while the official figures might look positive with an unemployment rate below the seven percentage points, the General Workers’ Union, rather than being pleased with the quantity of new jobs, is more concerned with the quality and type of jobs that are being created and offered.

The GWU pledged its commitment to continue doing its best to fight as much as possible against precarious employment and indecent working conditions and pay, and it shall spare no effort in ensuring that the fundamental principles and the rights at work of the Maltese workers at large will be fully respected and protected, Mr Zarb said.