Suchergebnisse

En este artículo se investiga la relación entre el diálogo social y el trabajo decente en Malta. La economía de Malta, que está pasando por una reestructuración considerable, está creciendo a un ritmo más rápido que la media de la UE, y está creando suficientes puestos de trabajo para mantener el desempleo en un nivel bajo. Sin embargo, una serie de desafíos amenazan a estas tendencias positivas y ejercen presión sobre el futuro bienestar económico y social del país. El diálogo social desempeña un papel fundamental en la mejora de los resultados económicos de Malta al tiempo que mejora las condiciones de trabajo. El análisis sobre las políticas públicas muestra que no solo se están ampliando los foros de participación de los agentes sociales para que manifiesten sus intereses y contribuyan a la construcción conjunta del proyecto de futuro social, sino que, además, la negociación colectiva, llamada a jugar un papel importante en la mejora de las condiciones de trabajo, está afrontando retos idénticos a los del resto de países europeos. Esto es, la descentralización y la limitación de su eficacia. Para afrontar tales desafíos, los interlocutores sociales reclaman mayores inversiones la sensibilización de los trabajadores, así como en su propia implantación en todo el territorio, lo cual redundará en un aumento de la confianza entre los interlocutores sociales, y la creación de mayores sinergias interactivas, necesarias para hacer frente a nuevas realidades del mercado laboral. ; peer-reviewed

The information and consultation Directive was transposed into Maltese law in January 2006. Under the implementing legislation, information and consultation rights are exercised by recognised trade unions or, where these are not present, by specially elected or appointed employee representatives. The main social partners reacted positively to the adoption and implementation of the Directive. From anecdotal evidence it seems that the Directive's implementation has so far not resulted in major changes. ; peer-reviewed

It is commonly perceived that over the past decades, Malta has created a generous welfare state, including among others, free education and healthcare, adequate pensions and safety nets that result in relatively low poverty levels. Indeed, the Eurostat Household Budgetary Survey revealed that in 2008, 14 % of the Maltese population was at risk of poverty, in comparison to the higher EU-27 average of 17 % (Times of Malta, 2010). Despite this, in 2009, expenditure on social protection benefits amounted to 'only' about a fifth of Malta's Gross Domestic Product, a figure considerably lower than that of the EU average of about a quarter of the GDP in 2008 (National Statistics Office, 2011). However, whereas between 2005 and 2008, social protection benefits in the EU-27 grew by 9.5 %, Malta registered an increase of 22.3 %. In line with the fact that Malta has a relatively low unemployment rate, in 2008, unemployment benefits only amounted to 2.7 % of the total expenditure on social protection, when compared to the 5.2 % of the EU-27. Out of the various types of social benefits, in 2009, unemployment benefits registered the highest increase (of EUR 5.1 million) when compared to 2008, mainly due to the increase in unemployment in 2009. The unemployment benefit system in Malta is regulated by the Social Security Act (Government of Malta, 2011b). The Act provides for two main schemes, the contributory and the non contributory schemes. The contributory scheme is universal, covering all strata of society. All workers pay weekly contributions to their national insurance in order to be entitled to unemployment, sickness and retirement benefits. On the other hand, the non contributory scheme, originally meant to cater for persons living below the poverty line, is based on a financial means test. Unemployment benefits provided under the Social Security Act are partly funded by social security contributions levied upon employed persons and employers, and partly funded by the Government through tax revenues. The rates paid by ...

Official statistics show that in the year 2007, there were about 7,588 persons engaged in some sort of non-standard form of employment. Overall, there was a small increase between 2004 and 2007 in the number of such workers. The large majority of workers in Malta appear to prefer job security over flexibility. While there is little debate about non-standard form of employment in Malta, the interest in flexicurity among social partners has recently increased. ; peer-reviewed

Official statistics show that in the year 2007, there were about 7,588 persons engaged in some sort of non-standard form of employment. Overall, there was a small increase between 2004 and 2007 in the number of such workers. The large majority of workers in Malta appear to prefer job security over flexibility. While there is little debate about non-standard form of employment in Malta, the interest in flexicurity among social partners has recently increased. ; peer-reviewed

This study is being carried out by the Author in a personal and independent capacity and has no relation to his professional or other institutional affiliations; nor does it necessarily spell out the policy of any such institutions in the area being addressed in this report. ; A comparative analytic study of European Union (EU) & Maltese legislation in the fields of social policy, employment and industrial relations, as well as an overview of the impact on employers in Malta of the EU acquis in this area. This study prepared by Dr. Godfrey Baldacchino, was commissioned by the Malta Employers' Association as a contribution to the on-going national debate on the rights and wrongs of Malta's current bid to join the European Union. It has served as the basis for discussions with Government in preparation for bilateral negotiations with the European Union on behalf of all employers in Malta. ; N/A

One main challenge for the European social partners, as portrayed in the Lisbon Strategy, is to develop the labour market in such a way as to promote greater managerial flexibility while ensuring the workers' security. The situation is becoming complicated by the widespread emergence of new atypical forms of occupations. The reform of labour law and public administrative structures through social dialogue are perceived as necessary requirements for the emergence of a fairer, more inclusive labour market. ; N/A

The shift to a European model of industrial and employment relations during the first ten years of EU membership continued to gather momentum. Through the updating of the Maltese labour law in order to conform to the EU Directives, the Maltese industrial and employment scenario moved closer to the ideals of the European social model. Nevertheless, in the transposition of the EU Directives into Maltese law, little heed was given to the substantive features. Moreover the policy of abolishing all existent practices of workers' participation tends to diverge from the European social model. These are some of the visible fault lines in the bridges which have been built towards a more Europeanised system of employment and industrial relations. ; N/A

This article examines the implementation into Maltese law of the EU Directive on European Works Councils (EWCs), and the country's experience of EWCs, as of autumn 2004. ; peer-reviewed

The following are summaries of the main industrial relations events that happened in Malta in 2011 and 2012 as reported in the European Employment Observatory. The events are listed according to the date in which they were published. ; N/A

The White Paper containing the proposed new Employment Relations Act (ERA) and the proposed revisions to the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) was presented to the press and the public by Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Social Policy Dr Lawrence Gonzi on Thursday 27th December 2001. Both documents had benefited already from a long spell of consultation, going back at least 10 years, and including a series of well-attended, national conferences. Both bills bear the mark of recommendations tabled by the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD), which were included as annexes to the same White Paper. Individuals and organisations were invited to table comments to the Minister by not later than 31st January 2002. ; peer-reviewed

The paper identifies a series of obstacles to the integration of Third Country Nationals as a category within the Maltese labour market, including: TCNs' lack of knowledge about the procedures for obtaining a work permit; institutionalised discrimination against them as a category in allowing their entry into the labour market; opaque, dilatory and discretionary procedures for obtaining and renewing work permits and for recognising TCNs' qualifications; poor knowledge by managers about handling workplace diversity and intercultural issues, abuse of employers' leverage powers as regards wages and other conditions of employment, linguistic problems, overlapping and poorly defined political responsibilities for integration, lack of cooperation between institutional stakeholders and pervasive discrimination against foreigners in relation to utility rates and other areas of social life. ; peer-reviewed

In autumn 2000, a team of 'three wise men' was engaged by the European Commission to examine the human rights record of Austria's political establishment, and particularly the behaviour of its ruling coalition. It was then clear that a neat solution had been found to end Austria's political isolation in Western Europe, stop the increasing resentment against the EU among Austrian citizens, and thus save the EU from further embarrassment. Irrespective of the details of a much publicized case, this was yet another example of the often unclear dynamics between expertise and political incumbents in crafting policy at a European level. On this particular occasion, experts had been deployed to legitimise a U-turn in political strategy. Thus the experts, in less than 1000 words, provided the objective and independent assessment to corroborate and recommend a particular course of political action, which (not coincidentally) was exactly the one being, not quite silently, contemplated. ; peer-reviewed

Part I of this article appeared in IQ March 2002. This second part takes into account some of the important developments that have taken place since that publication. These included further legislative reforms in local financial services legislation, particularly changes to the law governing the newly designated Malta Financial Services Authority. Part II also revisits the themes introduced in Part I and offers a fresh re-appraisal of the relationship and inter-connectivity that may or may not exist between financial legislation on one side and consumer laws and structures on the other. ; peer-reviewed