Employers claim cleaning, security contracts barely cover minimum wage

Government contracts for security officers and cleaning staff are still being awarded to bidders tendering at hourly rates that "barely cover" the minimum wage, the Malta Employers' Association said in a statement.

The MEA said the practice, an issue of long-standing dispute for unions as well, was placing "serious operators at a severe competitive disadvantage and fuelling the hysteria about precarious employment in these sectors, casting a negative image on all employers."

The MEA has in the past disputed claims by unions that low hourly rates for third-party contracts in the security and cleaning sectors was contributing to precarity in employment.

"We're calling on government to be consistent with its stated aim to tackle so-called precarious employment by establishing a minimum rate below which no tenders will be awarded," the MEA said.

In its proposals for the national budget, the MEA proposed setting such an hourly rate at €7.50, excluding VAT, in conjunction with adequate enforcement of labour legislation and the setting up of a services charter to encourage compliance with legal and ethical employment practices.

"The proposed rate will cover wages, social security, vacation leave, bonuses and sick leave and allow for a margin of profitability and maneuverability for collective bargaining in these sectors. In the absence of such actions, any talk about decent working conditions in the security, cleaning and care working sectors would be superfluous."

The MEA also urged unions to support these proposals in the interest of workers in these sectors.