GWU has always believed that employees use their sick leave when they have sick
children.
Over the centuries, the employee has always shown firm principles towards the
workplace where they work. They did this during financial leasing, during the
pandemic and also when a particular workplace was doing badly.
The profile of the employee in our workplaces is constantly changing and so are their
needs. The concept of balancing family and work responsibilities should not just be
on paper. These concepts have been discussed both in collective bargaining and at
national level. The need for a parent to stay with the children when they are ill is not
the first time the GWU has talked about it.
The General Workers’ Union has always believed that there are circumstances in
which employees should use sick leave to care for their children when they are ill.
When this situation was discussed at a meeting of the Industrial Relations
Committee, the GWU even argued in favour of using sick leave, when necessary,
when children are ill.
“Contrary to the claim that it is impossible to control this measure, the employer can
still control the situation. There is already urgent family leave for family emergencies,
but we all know how often children get sick. I can not understand how in the recent
past everyone talks about trust in employees and suddenly we are talking about a
lack of trust. With everyone working nowadays, it happens that a parent has to stay
at home because the children are overwhelmed,” said GWU General Secretary Josef
Bugeja.
“If we really believe in employee participation in the workplace and have confidence
in employees, then these things should be normal and we should not speak against
them,” said the General Secretary.
In the meantime, the GWU will present its proposals for the consultation document
on the policy framework for children 2024-2030.
