General Workers’ Union warns about threat of xenophobic rhetoric on society

The General Workers Union (GWU) has hit out against the use of xenophobic and discriminatory statements to stoke fears of, and hatred towards, foreigners living in Malta.

These people, the union stressed, were working with the local population and contributing to the future of the thousands who receive social benefits and pensions every year.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the union claimed that the country going through a period of economic growth and social empowerment which would guarantee citizens’ future. It said that it was therefore a shame that there were those who intended to “spread far-right ideas by repackaging them as traditional values or love towards the nation”.

In recent months, criticism has been levelled at Opposition leader Adrian Delia over his portrayal of Malta’s foreign workforce. In his reaction the budget on Monday, Delia dedicated a significant part of his speech to what he said were problems driven by a sudden increase in foreign workers.

“What is more outrageous and upsetting is the sort of language being used in an effort to stoke fears and hatred towards foreigners who have come to live among us, who work with us and who contribute towards the future of those thousands of people who receive social benefits and pensions each year,” the union said.

It said that rhetoric advocating for selective immigration, or which differentiate between foreign workers on the basis of “whether they are from the European continent, the European Union, Asia or Africa, are dangerous because they are on the level of that used by parties across Europe that have gained legitimacy through the fear they have sowed themselves”. 

READ MORE: Muscat: 'Opposition leader's discourse is extremely dangerous'

Moreover, the union sought to remind the political class of its responsibility to only transmit facts to the nation, and not statements based on conjecture.

“Rhetoric that paint foreigners as people that are lowering wages for workers are very far from the truth for the simple reason that when workers are part of a union, there can never be discrimination in wages,” the GWU said.

It added that no collective agreement negotiated by a union could differentiate between workers.

Finally, the union insisted that it had been, in recent years, defended and promoted diversity within society, which it said could only strengthen the country and better prepare it for the future.

Anti-foreign workers discourse disrespects ‘EU Social Charter’

In a separate statement, the leftist think-tank Zminijietna said “EU citizens have every right to find work and live in another European country”.

It added that in Malta the total amount of EU workers stood at 31,000, with a further 12,000 workers coming from non-EU states.

“Blaming foreign workers for Malta’s woes is very dangerous,” the think-tank said, addin that EU Treaties also contain a general ban on discrimination on the grounds of nationality.

The Treaties specifically state that freedom of movement for workers necessarily entails the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment.

READ ALSO: Bashing foreigners, are we? How very Mintoffian...