During an MCESD meeting, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister Carmelo Abela, presented a number of emerging issues which resulted from brainstorming meetings that took place with social partners, representing both employers and employees, on the various perspectives of the future of work and social dialogue.

Abela said that the reason for these brainstorming exercises ‘was to address the new labour market necessities that have developed during the COVID-19 pandemic as new employment patterns have started to emerge.’

During these meetings, Abela said that three main questions were asked to various entities present. These include:  ‘How do we see work changing and what is the impact of this on the employer-employee relationship? Are there any changes we need to make in the legislative framework dealing with industrial and employment relations to address both the main issues faced today and the future of work? And what form should social dialogue take going forward?’

Subsequently, a number of issues were raised and Abela gave an overview of the dialogue meetings held with the social partners, highlighting the future of work and its consequences, delving into legislative considerations and also looking into the future of social dialogue.

The entities who formed part of the meetings were the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, Malta Employers Association, Malta Chamber for SMEs, Malta Hotel and Restaurant Association, Gozo Business Chamber, General Workers’ Union, Forum Unions Maltin, Unjoni Ħaddiema Magħqudin – Voice of the Workers, Confederation of Malta Trade Unions and Representatives of regulated professions.

Minister Abela highlighted that ‘one of the emerging issues was the need of flexible working as a tool to be used appropriately for the future of work, benefiting both parties; the employer and the employee.’ He said that together with the entities they ‘also highlighted the importance of trust between employer and employee in order to strengthen this relationship.’

Abela continued by saying “managerial skills require improvement by moving from micro management to a focus on deliverables and improved recruitment and HR processes.’

He also remarked that the fact that ‘not all office interaction can be done remotely is taken into consideration, but the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 25% of occupations can be done at home.”   

Minister Abela made reference to the constant emerging theme regarding the new developing trend of non-standard forms of employment. This ‘includes temporary employment; part-time and on-call work; temporary agency work and other multi-party employment relationships; disguised employment and dependent self-employment.’ He explained that the gig (platform) economy is becoming more popular as more people are going for this job option where one can basically have a person for different jobs without being employed with a particular place. Therefore, ‘work is outsourced to a dispersed crowd and applications allocate work to individuals in specific geographical areas.’

Abela remarked that the emerging topics related to non-standard forms of employment include ‘affording basic protection of the worker, considerations for minimum wage, social security and sick leave and freedom of association, and the rights to collective bargaining.

With regards to legislative considerations, Minister Abela highlighted that ‘these need to be updated in order to properly address work realities, and on this aspect work has commenced by the Ministry within OPM.’

During the brainstorm meetings, the social partners emerged other issues related to remote working and said that “considerations need to be taken for appropriate compensation and allowances, for GDPR and privacy, and for adequate IT security to mitigate risk of breaches.” In addition, they also discussed the “provisions for the measurement of productivity, the onus of liability for injuries during the performance of duties, the extension of health and safety risk assessments and discussions on the burden of costs including internet, office equipment and utilities.”

Other considerations, Abela said, include the ‘revision of labour laws to provide enhanced for manoeuvrability under force majeure or extreme circumstances, the continuation of updating the EIRA to meet today’s labour market needs, and to pursue the continuation and implementation of tasks of the Low Wage Commission.’

With reference to the future of social dialogue, Minister Abela highlighted certain issues which need to be improved. These include ‘the continuing use of digital tools for meetings, strengthening the Employers Relations Board and the research capabilities of the MCESD as well as pursue sectoral committees for further focus.’

Abela said that ‘more work, discussions and meetings will take place in order to improve as much as possible.’