During an interview on NET AM, Josef Vella – the CEO of the UĦM Voice of the Workers said that “the significance of Workers’ Day needs to be discussed with our families too”
Vella said there’s a long way to go including fighting precarious conditions, as well as foreigners being paid as little as €1 per hour through an agency.
He explained that because wages in Pakistan are so low, €1 per hour is actually a good wage for Pakistani’s in Malta. However on the other hand, both EU law and Maltese law clearly stipulate that wages must be both fair and equal. Vella said that Government is allowing a situation where third-country nationals are brought over to Malta and loopholes are abused of to bypass the EU directive.
The CEO of the UĦM Voice of the Workers said that if we really believe in European principles, the same working conditions must apply for all workers.
He insisted that when unions speak about foreign workers, this would be done to lobby for a level playing field and to ensure that all workers are paid fairly for their work.
He said that never in his life time does he remember anyone being paid Lm0.43 per hour and that this is the equivalent of modern slavery and is negatively effecting locals.
He concluded that reminding everyone that the UĦM Voice of the Workers has always campaigned in favour of the European Union. Nowadays, the majority of the population agree with Malta’s membership in the EU and are maximizing on opportunities made available thanks to the country’s membership in the union.
