The hospitality, aviation and entertainment industries have been hardest hit by the covid 19 pandemic, leaving many businesses still operating in worse conditions.
Since March, about 1,000 companies have received permission from the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) to temporarily change working conditions to retain their employees. Currently, there are 200 companies that have renewed this permission.
In comments to Inewsmalta, the General Secretary of the General Workers’ Union Josef Bugeja said there are still a few shops and bars that are still closed, but that they are still receiving help from the government via the Covid Wage Supplement.
He stressed that, “You also have hotels where the level of tourism is very low, we forecast between 10% – 15%, therefore, it is more difficult to maintain occupancy. Where there is a union, you must work to create a balance. Workers will be more flexible, care must be taken to fill their working day, and those who cannot work will continue to receive €800. “
“Where we have a presence, we work hard with employers and employee representatives to help them be more productive and efficient, including when it comes to new duties for workers.”
“Certainly, the various measures introduced by the government, including Covid Wage Supplement, have done much to save jobs.’’
Bugeja added that the GWU is looking at how the Covid 19 vaccine situation will evolve until tourism resumes. “We are hopeful that we will be able to move closer to normality in the near future so that tourism can resume.”
The GWU General Secretary concluded by saying that we need to adapt to a new world of work, while at the same time ensuring that the new labour law that the union is pushing for is implemented as much as possible.
