Employers don’t like sick leave proposal – Muscat fails to reply

Labour leader Joseph Muscat failed to reply to concerns raised by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and the Malta Employers' Association to a proposal by both Labour and the PN to allow parents to apply for sick leave when their children fall ill.

Two of the several interventions made were that of MHRA president Tony Zahra and MEA president Joe Farrugia, who urged the parties to reconsider their position on sick leave.

"Whoever thought that having this sick leave proposal would be a good idea? Imagine people applying for sick leave because their pet falls ill and they had nobody to take care of it. This is a big cause of concern to the industry and I urge both parties to revise this proposal," Zahra said.

On his part, Joe Farrugia said that while the MEA welcomed proposals such as the introduction of more childcare centres and extending school hours, it found the sick leave proposal for parents of sick children "worrying".

"It's important that we find a balance between labour supply and demand... But let's be careful not to introduce measures which hinder labour demand," Farrugia said.

But despite the clear opposition to the proposal, Muscat failed to provide an answer as he focused on other points raised during the discussion.

In his introductory speech, Muscat said this was the first time in Maltese political history that a party was saying it would spend less on its programme the PN's touted €1.1 billion programme. "The PN's plan will either break the bank, or else have to be backed up by new taxes, or fail to fulfill all promises. On the other hand, our programme costs €732 million - a realistic programme - and is based on EU and IMF projections," Muscat said, who claims his programme will lead to a deficit of 0.5% of GDP by 2017.

Muscat also said that deputy leader Louis Grech's main responsibility, if Labour were elected, would be to see that the PL electoral programme was carried out.

In his intervention, MHRA president Tony Zahra lauded Labour's manifesto and its energy plan, particularly the more transparent process by which utility prices would be set. "Good governance means accountability, something which we want to see more."

Zahra said the country's institutions were "no longer what they used to be... heads rolling when they failed to assume responsibility... continuing in this direction could be a blow for the country's reputation. Look at countries abroad: ministers resign and this is the culture which we must introduce. There is a dire need for responsibility and transparency."

During his short intervention, GWU secretary general vowed to keep on defending workers. "Yes, I am still here defending workers and will continue to do so," was the first thing Zarb said. He went on to add that the PL had included 22 of the GWU's proposals in its manifesto and reassured that the GWU will continue fighting against precarious work.