During a conference in Dar il-Mediterran, attended by the General Workers’ Union in cooperation with the Maltese government, the Italian state, national authorities and social partners, the EURES project was discussed. This project is about helping workers and employers in Europe to make mobility easier and fairer.
The European Employment Services, known as EURES, brings together the European Commission and the public employment services of the countries of the European Union that deal with employment issues. Among them are various trade unions, employers’ associations, and local and regional authorities.
The main objective of this EURES project is to facilitate mobility throughout Europe and to provide support to all those who are looking for work, education or training in another European Union country, in Norway and in Iceland. In addition, this project also addresses the needs of job seekers to remove barriers to mobility.
The General Workers’ Union was the first Maltese trade union to sign up to participate in this project. General Workers’ Union General Secretary Josef Bugeja explained that the union’s goal is to help employers find the skills they need and to provide the necessary support to Maltese workers who want to gain work experience outside Malta. In addition, he stressed that workers coming from the European Union should, in principle, have decent conditions and decent work, as provided by Maltese laws. He stressed that many workers who come from abroad can be exploited because they do not know the conditions and laws.
GWU Assistant Secretary Kevin Camilleri said this is the second year GWU has partnered with Jobsplus. He added that the main goal of this EURES project is to work hand in hand with workers’ employment services. In this way, European citizens can take advantage of the same opportunities despite language barriers and cultural differences.
For his part, the Minister of Finance and Labour, Clyde Caruana, stated that labour mobility is one of the fundamental principles of the European Union.
He went on to say that labour mobility is very important for our country, so in recent years enough workers have come to our country, which has allowed Malta to generate the economic growth that has taken place.
“As a result, the government was later able to better respond to the needs of Maltese and Gozitans,” affirmed Caruana.
For his part, the Italian Ambassador to Malta, Fabrizio Romano, thanked all those who will work on this project. At the same time, he praised the joint work that will offer more support to both workers and employers.
