The UĦM Voice of the Workers has criticised government over a one-off €7,000 payment awarded to shore and port workers for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic, arguing that thousands of other frontline and essential workers are being left out and only receiving "a clap or a coin" in comparison.
In a statement Thursday, the union was referring to a report by Times of Malta which said that during a Malta Dockers Union conference, where the media was not invited, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced a one-time payment for port workers, with the amount varying depending on their length of service during the pandemic.
Abela described this payment as recognition for continued work in the challenging period.
The UĦM on Thursday said it welcomed the news that dock workers will be receiving €7,000 which, according to the Prime Minister, is being given "as a sign of recognition for the challenging Covid period."
However, the union said the obvious question it must ask the Prime Minister is: what will be given to all the other workers who also worked tirelessly throughout the same pandemic?
It said the list includes, among others, Freeport workers, dock foremen, VGT, Viset, Virtu Ferries employees, Customs workers, Malta Public Transport drivers, Transport Malta employees, Gozo Channel workers, employees in the social sector, FSWS, SCSA, Agenzija Sapport, Sedqa and Caritas workers, as well as many workers in the health sector such as Allied Health Professionals, Emergency Ambulance Responders, doctors and nurses, together with other categories of technical staff in Malta's hospitals.
The union said statements of this nature should certainly not be made two days before a general election, as thousands of workers are now asking why they only received applause or a token gesture, and nothing close to €7,000.
It added that there now appears to be an attempt to present the story differently, namely that the €3 million amount will come from the Pensions and Contingency Fund, a fund which belongs to all licensed dock workers regardless of which union they belong to.
"If the money is truly coming from this fund without any assistance from government, then this news is a slap in the face to dock workers, because the fund's money already belongs to them, and it makes little sense for the Prime Minister to boast about something that belongs to others," the union said.
"Obviously, this is what happens when everything is done in the frenzy of two days before an election," the union said.
Malta Dockers Union President Ryan Fava, who spoke to Times of Malta, said the fund was strengthened over time through employer contributions, allowing the union to facilitate the one-off payments for workers who remained active throughout the pandemic.
He also insisted the timing of the scheme's announcement was coincidental and linked to the union's scheduled general conference rather than the election period.
Lawyer Jason Azzopardi questioned both the timing and the exclusivity of the payment to port workers, and pointed to the absence of similar schemes for other frontline professions such as doctors, nurses and emergency responders.