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Matthew Vella
Employers will be obliged to consult with their employees on the future of their employment and any measures taken to mitigate threats to their work, according to a European directive which has been transposed into Maltese law.
They will be fined up to Lm50 per employee if they do not set up a consultation procedure, which includes the organisation of an election for the representatives of non-unionised workers.
The new law has afforded greater powers to both non-unionised and unionised workers to appoint or elect representatives who will meet employers and demand information about the economic situation in their workplace, the future of their jobs.
Union Haddiema Maqghudin secretary general Gejtu Vella said the directive was important for workers in the private sector: “it will enable unions and other workers’ representatives to have access to information on the situation of the company, and it will improve negotiations because everyone will know what decisions would have been taken.”
Workers in undertakings employing more than 50 employees have officially been granted the right to information on the economic situation of their workplace.
Non-unionised workers will be allowed to appoint or elect their representatives in a secret ballot which will have to be organised by employers, who will be responsible for a fair, secret ballot. Even employees still under probation will be entitled to take part in the ballot.
Workers are now entitled to demand information on the present and future situation of their employment, and will have to be consulted on measures taken whenever there is a threat to their employment.
The representatives will also have the right to be consulted on changes in work organisation and contractual relations. Employers will be obliged to reach agreement with the representatives on these specific changes.
Representatives will also be allowed “reasonable time off” with pay during working hours, in order to perform their functions.
A confidentiality clause allows employers to offer information on terms of confidentiality, but representatives who dispute the confidentiality may refer the matter to the industrial tribunal.
The tribunal will be responsible to determine whether it is reasonable for an employer to require the representatives to hold information in confidence.
Employers are also not required to disclose information, which according to objective criteria would be deemed seriously harm or prejudice the undertaking. Representatives can however refer the matter to the industrial tribunal to determine whether the employers’ actions would be justified.
mvella@mediatoday.com.mt
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