Six organisations active in support of workers’ rights, parental rights and equality between women and men, have sent a letter to the General Workers Union (GWU) and UHM Voice of the Workers to express their great disappointment at the role the unions played in the transposition of the European Directive on work-life balance, and to stress that this weak law should change.

The organisations expressed their deep dismay that during discussions, which happened behind closed doors on the Employment Relations Board, the unions agreed to the Directive’s transposition in a way that did not adequately take into account the needs of the female and male workers who have family and care responsibilities. Legal Notice 201 of 2022, which transposes the Directive, gives the least possible to workers in Malta, with the result that, in practice, the objectives of the Directive will not be achieved.

With the exception of ten days of fully paid paternity leave, all other measures are extremely weak. Of the four months of parental leave, only two months will be paid, and this at a miserable rate of sick pay, €21.85 per day. This means that few working parents will be able to afford to use this leave. One of the aims of paid parental leave is to encourage men to make use of it so that family responsibilities are shared more equally between the sexes; a goal that will certainly not be reached due to the very low rate at which this leave will be paid. In addition, the fact that this leave cannot be taken all at once (only a month can be used until the child is four years old) means that parents will not be able to use it when they need it most.

Carers’ leave – which is only 5 days a year for workers to look after people in their care – will not be paid.

The right of workers to request a flexible working arrangement from the employer, as introduced by the Legal Notice, will have almost no impact because there is no obligation to meet these demands in certain circumstances or under certain conditions.

In their letter, the organisations said that the results of this transposition show that the unions have completely failed to exert influence in favour of the interests of the workers during the discussions in the Employment Relations Board. The measures implemented are the mandatory minimum from the Directive and have been introduced through a ‘tick box’ exercise, only for Malta to comply with the Directive on paper, instead of an exercise that seeks to make a positive difference in the lives of working parents and those with care responsibilities.

In their letter, the organisations asked: where were the unions to ensure that the Directive was transposed in such a way as to protect the interests of women and men workers? Why didn’t the unions call for a broad consultation? Why did the unions agree to worst possible transposition of the Directive? Why have the unions failed to negotiate measure that have a more positive impact on workers and on equality between women and men in society?

The organisations ended the letter by saying that they will be waiting for the unions to play their role of defenders of the interests of the workers and give full support to the request the organisations will make to the government for a broad consultation and significant improvements to the law. The organisations believe that work-life balance measures that really make a difference in workers’ lives and in society should be put in place.

The organisations that signed the letter are

Moviment Graffitti

Malta Women’s Lobby

Malta Federation of Organisations Persons with Disability (MFOPD)

National Parent’s Society Persons with Disability (NPSPD)

Women’s Rights Foundation

Aditus Foundation