Disciplined corps workers who suffered 1970s injustice to receive compensation

The Cabinet has approved a scheme that will offer one-off compensation to hundreds of workers who formed part of disciplined worker corps in the 1970s

Cabinet has agreed on a compensation scheme for former public sector workers who suffered 1970s injustice (File photo)
Cabinet has agreed on a compensation scheme for former public sector workers who suffered 1970s injustice (File photo)

Workers who were employed in disciplined corps and were transferred with State companies in 1979 will be receiving one-off compensation for the injustice they suffered.

The decision was approved by Cabinet on Tuesday and targets workers who did not qualify for the first scheme launched in 2017.

The new scheme will close the chapter once and for all, the government said in a statement.

Workers will be offered a one-off ex-gratia payment spread out over a number of years. The payment will be determined by the years of service these workers gave between 1979 and their retirement or resignation from the public service.

Anybody applying for this scheme will bind himself to give up any legal challenges. The scheme will also apply to former workers with Telemalta, the Gas Board and ex apprentices with the Malta Electricity Board.

The Cabinet said that although these workers did not have a legal basis for their claims their circumstances were similar to those of other workers who were awarded compensation.

The scheme will also apply to the heirs of these workers.

Applications will be published in the Government Gazzette on Friday and will close on 26 July 2019.

The scheme is jointly administered by the Finance Ministry and the Social Solidarity Ministry.

It follows another scheme in 2017 that targeted other sectors with long-standing claims of injustice, including police officers who were due overtime payments.