[WATCH] UHM lists the five top concerns for Maltese workers

UHM lists the five top concerns for Maltese workers • Video by Ray Attard

“The pensions time-bomb, the sustainability of Malta’s transport network, a more efficieint healthcare system, the state of the environment and the educational system were highlighted as the major concerns for workers in Malta,” the Unjoni Haddiema Maltin (UHM) secretary general Josef Vella said.

At a press conference in front of the new parliament building in Valletta, Vella explained that these were the five most commonly quoted issues since the launch of the Voice of the Workers project in November 2013.  The five concerns were expressed on a large canvas in front of the new parliament building, in the form of a cartoon by MaltaToday cartoonist and illustrator Mark Scicluna.

The Voice of the workers project was a partnership with the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) and the Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori (CIA) to allow workers  to actively contribute to social dialogue.

The project included the setting up of a web portal that allowed for immediate accessibility to relevant information related to social dialogue and the issue of a weekly digital magazine that focuses on social dialogue.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives Anglu Farrugia present at the unveiling of the cartoons, promised to pass on these issues to the respective standing committees, and praised the project.

“Projects like the voice of the workers, strengthen social dialogue and ensure that people are listened to,” Farrugia said.

 Farrugia expressed his belief that workers should find a way to express the country’s problems in parliament, where they could be properly dealt with.

Vella explained that the initiative had allowed UHM to understand what the most pressing concerns for workers were, and that it would now put these concerns forward to the relevant authorities.

“Workers want urgent corrective action to ensure that people  who reach pensionable age in the near future can enjoy a decent standard of living,” Vella said.

According to Vella, the sustainability of Malta’s transport network was deemed an issue of concern for various reasons like the environment and health risks posed by pollution. He added that workers also wished that authorities would “turn words into actions,” in terms of environment issues like over-development and air and water quality.

“Workers want parliamentarians to address the Maltese healthcare system and tackle issues such as waiting time for appointments and the development of primary healthcare services,” Vella said.

Vella added that workers had also expressed concerns on the educational system, particularly the rate of early school leavers and youth unemployment.