Candidate for the European Parliament elections Steve Ellul visits the General Workers’ Union During a visit by the candidate for the European Parliament elections, Steve Ellul, to the General Workers’ Union building, he met with the GWU administration. Together they discussed some of the proposed issues at the top of the agenda for a fairer society.
Among them was the issue of equal pay for work of equal value. A situation in which
the contractor’s workers are paid less than their colleagues in the company itself.
Candidate Steve Ellul said that it is necessary to extend the law and he fully agrees
with the GWU, which has campaigned for equal pay for work of equal value.
He also mentioned that he realises that the criterion stating that a company must
employ people with disabilities (2% of the workforce) is not met if the number of
employees exceeds 50 people. He emphasised that this criterion must be enforced.
“In this case, I believe that workers need to be specially trained to help the disabled
people they work with feel comfortable in an environment that is favourable to them. I
feel that we do not do enough for these people. If you give them the right
environment, they will contribute,” Ellul emphasised.
The GWU administration mentioned the need to provide training on new skills as
artificial intelligence has become well established. Therefore, workers need to be
trained in a new technological system to work with it as progress is unstoppable.
“I fully agree that training courses for workers must take place. The education
systems in our country must be brought up to date and provide the necessary
training for the work to come, both during working hours and afterwards,” the
candidate for the EP elections continued.
Steve Ellul also said that he would campaign for the introduction of a four-day week.
A proposal that the GWU had made in the proposals for the last budget. This
proposal was accepted and is practised by the public service in the form of a 4-day
week. With this measure in place, employees can request to spread the 40 hours of
work over four days whenever conditions allow.
Steve Ellul emphasised that he considers it necessary to increase wages for
employees. In this way, workers will have more time for rest and leisure, while having
more money in their hands, and all this will translate into healthier families.
