The UHM – Voice of the Workers is receiving concerns from workers across all sectors, while the General Workers Union (GWU) foresees job losses and redundancies if the situation pertaining to Coronavirus becomes a long-term one.
Contacted by The Malta Independent, both unions were asked whether they had received any reports of members losing their jobs in recent days, what sectors were being hit hardest, and what they expect for employees in the coming weeks given the current situation.
A spokesperson for the UHM confirmed when contacted that no member of the union had been sacked from their place of work.
The spokesperson said that queries and concerns about the situation were being received from “across the board”, with employees from various sectors reporting their worries.
The concerns from workers varied, but many feared that they will end up taking home less money from their work – perhaps due to being told that they have to work reduced hours.
Furthermore, there are persons in the health sector who are totally burnt out, the spokesperson pointed out. Some reported needing psychological assistance as a result of the situation and the workload as well, he continued.
The Secretary General of the GWU Josef Bugeja meanwhile said that the GWU’s whole structure is assessing the impact on each and every workplace on a three-tier level. The first is working with employers to prevent the spread of the virus; the second is the management of mental health employees and the financial impact on each individual workplace; and the third is to help reach out and consult with members and the general workforce.
Speaking about the impact across various sectors, Bugeja said that the hospitality and entertainment sector and the services sector, along with the aviation sector, have been hit the hardest.
Bugeja said that they are working with different subcontractors to try to find alternative employment in different sectors for workers, such as in caring which is most needed right now. This however is another huge challenge in and of itself, he said, given that classes are banned.
“Up until now, most employers engaged with us are trying to prolong every employment with different measures”, he said, although noting that the same time that it is still too early to assess the impact of measures such as the lockdown of the airport. He said that it is those who work with sub-contractors who he thinks will be most impacted, depending on the nature of service these sub-contractors provide.
“On the other hand, the impact on the manufacturing industry is minimal (some factories servicing the local market are at full capacity) and other sector like the wholesale are also increasing their output”, he said.
Bugeja said that fiscal measures to retain employees in employment are needed, and that any such measure should be based on and directly linked to the retention of employees.
“We are in this together and I believe in burden sharing and employees are doing their utmost to help out”, he said.
He said that the situation unfortunately remains fluid, and said that apart from the government, employees and employers, the European Commission needs to relax any rules on state aid, inject financial assistance to help member states in the prevention of the spread and to aid their health structures.
Bugeja said that it is the “unknown factors”, such as the duration of the virus, the time needed to create a vaccine, and the extent of the spread of the virus which are what worry them most.
“If we can overcome this in a few weeks then we can start working on the recovery package”, he said.
“If on the other hand this is long term, then we foresee jobs losses and redundancies. The most important thing is consultation and social dialogue”, he concluded.