The Government that introduced a legal notice on Equal Pay for Equal Work just a year ago is now itself discriminating against its own workers, the Nationalist Party said Friday.

"Around 20,000 government employees will not benefit from an allowance that will be granted to workers who have served for the same number of years within the Civil Service. This is solely because they are employed within government agencies, state-owned companies, regulators and authorities, rather than directly within ministries or government departments."

Discrimination of this kind is unacceptable and runs counter to the principle of justice that should guide every government policy, the PN said.

"This discrimination will affect workers across the entire public sector, including employees at Enemalta, the Water Services Corporation, Wasteserv, as well as workers in the health and education sectors, among others. These are all workers who dedicate their careers to serving the public and ensuring that essential services continue to operate smoothly."

The PN called on the Government to correct this injustice immediately and to ensure that any long-service allowance is truly inclusive, reflecting the commitment and sacrifices of all those who work tirelessly across the wider public sector.

"The PN does not discriminate between one worker and another. A Nationalist Government grants benefits to all workers, without discrimination."

In reply, the government said that the PN is clearly seeking to mislead. More seriously, it is doing so without a proper understanding of how government negotiates collective agreements with workers' unions.

Around 20,000 employees in public entities are regulated through agreements negotiated between each entity's management and the respective unions, with the support of the Industrial Relations Unit within the Office of the Prime Minister. These agreements include a range of conditions and benefits that broadly run in parallel with those of the Public Service.

It is important to clarify that the principle of equal pay for equal work, as invoked by the PN, is not applicable in this context. Public entities and the Public Service have different legal status, which allows for separate and more flexible negotiations based on the specific needs of each entity. There are also other conditions, such as certain allowances, which apply in the public sector but not within the Public Service.

The unions that signed the Public Officers' Collective Agreement-some of which are the same unions involved in negotiating agreements for public entities, authorities and agencies-would never accept discrimination between workers. These unions are fully aware of the realities and acknowledge that public entities have consistently been treated fairly.

The government has, in fact, directly addressed equal pay for equal work by investing up to €60 million to ensure that contractor employees are paid at the same level as government workers, thereby correcting wage discrepancies and anomalies.

It is also recalled that the Public Service Collective Agreement, signed on 29 November 2024 with ten unions, regulates the conditions of around 33,000 workers. Through this agreement, employees will receive salary increases significantly higher than in previous years-at unprecedented levels. The agreement also introduced a long service bonus, proposed by the government to recognise employees with many years of service.

For many years, Public Administration employees had been highlighting disparities that existed before 2013, when public entities enjoyed more favourable conditions than the Public Service.

This government has worked consistently to improve Public Service conditions so that it remains competitive in the labour market, as reflected in the number of collective agreements successfully concluded in recent years. At the same time, progress within the Public Service does not diminish the value, conditions or benefits already enjoyed by employees in public entities.