Employers want salary cuts for idle public servants, bonus for healthcare workers

The Malta Employers Association (MEA) has called for an immediate reduction in utility rates, a review in assistance schemes, salary cuts for idle public workers and a bonus for healthcare workers in the light of the COVID-19 crisis.

One proposed measure that will surely stoke controversy is the reduction of salaries for those in the public sector who are idle, to coincide with a special bonus for healthcare workers for their excellent service.

The MEA stated that the experience of the past few weeks is evidence that, as happened in previous years when Malta faced an international crisis, employers had done their utmost to prevent massive unemployment by retaining people in their jobs, “even though many of them may be idle.”

This was the primary reason why predictions of high unemployment had not materialised thus far, the association said.
Employers were aware that the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 crisis have the potential of being as devastating as the health aspect, said the association, and were postponing layoffs as much as possible.

This was made possible, in part, thanks to various schemes offered by the government to assist companies in bearing the brunt of lost production and falling revenues, it said.

“In spite of some optimistic figures regarding the number of new cases of Covid-19, many businesses expect the negative effects of the virus outbreak to extend for months, if not more in some sectors. It is therefore essential to consult further with the social partners to review, enhance and to make the assistance packages more target-specific.”

MEA  said that the classification of companies by NACE codes into two groups had worked as an immediate measure, but that many companies which fall under Appendix B, and who therefore receive significantly less aid, have also seen their operations come to a complete standstill. “There are also many cases of companies which do not fall under any Appendix who are paying their employees from their own resources. They cannot do so indefinitely,” pointed out the association.

It proposed a number of measures, among them a review of utility rates for both businesses and households, in view of the historical low in oil prices and the fact that people are constrained to spend more time at home. Other measures proposed include increased flexibility in handing out training grants, waiving of rents for factories in difficulty and the extension of wage supplements to more economic sectors.