Quarantine period causing major worker shortages, employers lobby survey shows

Malta Employers Association (MEA) raised the alarm over survey results among its members, that found absenteeism is causing a major disruption in operations.

In a survey conducted by MEA among its members, 32% reported having an absence rate higher than 15%, “making coping with the shortage of workers a problem in many workplaces.”

58% of respondents said they are coping with absenteeism through teleworking, while 51% said they have resorted to reducing operations. The survey conducted amongst 325 respondents, covered companies operating in all sectors of the economy.

“The fact that the spike in the number of positive Covid cases during the past three weeks has also amplified the number of employees who have been in primary contact with such cases has led to a dramatic increase in absenteeism because of quarantine,” MEA said in a statement.

“The disruption in business activity will have a negative impact on GDP and government finances, given that the wage supplement will have to be extended to at least the first quarter of 2022 to many businesses as a result.”

MEA appealed to authorities to re-examine measure taken by public health authorities, including the duration of quarantine. It also called for “ambiguous regulations” to be clarified in order to avoid unnecessary absence and industrial unrest

Chamber of SMEs proposes CDC recommendation to reduce quarantine period to five days

The Malta Chamber of SMEs proposed taking up the recommendations by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce quarantine period to five days for COVID-19 positive people.

This was discussed by CEO Abigail Mamo in the Employment Relations Board. Mamo insisted the Chamber “is not seeking to do the work of the health authorities, however such important developments coming from a recognised institution like the CDC cannot be ignored.”

“Given how negatively our economy and society are being affected by the difficult quarantine requirements, Malta cannot ignore such an important recommendation,” Mamo said.

The Chamber of SMEs insisted on high levels of disruption at the workplace and the grave side effects of the quarantine. The Chamber also warned the system is risking a collapse since people, faced with the hard quarantine conditions, are increasingly not reporting their primary contacts.

It also expressed its disagreement with the latest change in policy of not issuing a quarantine notice specifying all the individuals under quarantine and the duration of their quarantine. The Chamber emphasised that the system is confusing for employers and employees.