David Darmanin
As the expectation for a further substantial rise in cost of living allowance increases, so does the pressure on employers to issue pay-rises. But the Malta Employers Association is calling on government, as an employer, to be cautious.
“If government is to consider a rise in its payroll cost, then we have to see how us, as citizens, are benefiting out of this rise,” MEA president Pierre Fava told MaltaToday.
Fava had just issued a statement to warn government and the MUT that “excessive increases in the remuneration packages of academic staff at the University will create labour market distortions and lead to similar claims in both the private and public sector which many companies, and the public sector itself, cannot entertain.”
When Malta Union of Teachers president John Bencini was told about this press statement, he offered a sarcastic reaction.
“We agree with the MEA,” he said. “We agree that government should not offer excessive salaries, as Mr Fava pointed out. Excess is always wrong, be it excess money, excess food, or whatever. In fact, what we’re asking for is what we deserve, nothing excessive.”
Another matter of concern for Fava was this year’s increment in the salaries of public officers, as per a collective agreement signed in 2005.
By virtue of this five-year collective agreement, endorsed by the General Workers Union, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, the Malta Union of Professional Psychologists, the Malta Union of Teachers and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, government bound itself to increment wages of public officers by a maximum of 21.22% over a period of five years. The scheme is worked out in such a way that the lower the scale (representing higher salaries), the higher the increment. Also, the percentage increase keeps rising for the first three years, until election time, and drops again until 2010. So whereas for example, in 2005, Scale 1 officers received a rise of 1.294% over 2004, this year, they received a 5.28% increase over last year, whereas in 2010, they will receive a five per cent increase over 2009.
Therefore, this year, government will be granting the highest rises over the entire period of the collective agreement.
“As soon as the collective agreement for Employees in the Public Service was signed in 2005, the MEA had confronted the government with some important questions,” Fava said.
“We still stand by the same position. We still ask the same questions. As citizens, what value added are we getting from such increments?
“Another important issue with regards to the public sector was to see whether half days are still relevant. This practice was introduced when Malta was still a British colony – at a time when we had no air conditioners.
“Now conditions have obviously improved, and in summer there is still the same demand for work, if not more, in certain places, This year’s increase is the highest in percentage over the period of the collective agreements. Now we are at a point where, faced with a difficult time for our economy, government will have to fork out more money for wages, which is fine, but what are we getting back, as an economy?”

ddarmanin@mediatoday.com.mt