DOI workers get pay and conditions after sectoral agreement

The government has signed a new sectoral agreement for employees at the Department of Information (DOI), improving salaries and working conditions for around 30 workers, including photographers and information officers.

The agreement was formalised during a visit by Prime Minister Robert Abela and Principal Permanent Secretary Tony Sultana to the DOI in Valletta, as part of the department’s 70th-anniversary commemorations. The deal was signed between the Public Service and the General Workers’ Union (GWU).

Abela said the improved conditions form part of a wider series of agreements aimed at strengthening pay and career paths across the public service. He said a strong economy has allowed government to “continue investing strongly in its workers”, alongside tax-cut measures introduced in recent years.

Under the new agreement, DOI employees will benefit from upgrades in salary scales, new allowances tied to their specific duties, and performance-related allowances. Government said the deal acknowledges the “valuable work” carried out by the department in providing the public with updated and comprehensive information on government policy, services and national events.

During the visit, Abela was shown the department’s extensive archives, which include around 2.2 million photographs currently being digitised, as well as some 2,000 films dating from the 1960s to the 1980s.

To mark the anniversary, the DOI prepared a commemorative publication featuring 70 photographs taken by its own photographers, a copy of which was presented to the Prime Minister.

The sectoral agreement was signed by Thomas Woods, head of Industrial Relations within the Office of the Principal Permanent Secretary (People & Standards), DOI director Roderick Caruana, and GWU section secretary for Government and Public Entities Kendrick Bondin. GWU secretary-general Josef Bugeja was also present.