The EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages aims to boost collective bargaining coverage in countries like Malta where this rate is below 80% of the workforce. Though to date there is no exact figure on the current state of play, several studies indicate that in Malta 40% to 50% of employees are covered by a collective agreement, mostly in the public service or State entities. This directive must be transposed into Maltese law by the end of next year.

UHM Voice of the Workers has been vociferous on the matter for years as trade union membership may be a strong deterrent for abuse. Unfortunately in this day and age certain categories of workers especially those in low-income jobs are still being denied the chance to enrol in a union of their choice, despite the fact that such restriction is illegal.

While UHM welcomes the EU directive, it is rather disappointing that rather than taking a proactive approach to boost collective bargaining, things will only start moving if there is an impending deadline.  What is even worse is that data on the matter is rather limited, and consequently some countries might even be tempted to artificially inflate the collective bargaining coverage rate so as to avoid taking certain decisions. According to certain statistics in Italy has a 100% rate, which is evidently unrealistic as what exists on paper might not necessarily be translated to practice. Hence, it is crucial that for any plan to succeed there must be reliable data. In this respect, the work being done by the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations in Malta to establish the exact figure, is commendable as the issue may only be addressed if we know the extent of the problem.

UHM has been advocating mandatory trade union membership for low-income workers as the way forward. Through this model workers will have no issues in enrolling in a union of their choice and consequently they will have a layer of protection in case of abuse. While critics might point out that this is a paternalistic approach by the State, this is after all what has been in done in other spheres of life, such as motorists being obliged by law to have a motor insurance policy and the quotas to boost women in parliament.

UHM has also been advocating that anybody who gets the benefits of a collective agreement but does not want to join a union, would have to pay the equivalent of the enrolment fee in a fund which would be distributed among trade unions. Afterall, it is only fair to pay the share due to the unions for the service they are rendering, in this case better employment conditions through a collective agreement. This is how to start addressing the issue of free riders.

The implementation of the EU directive is a golden opportunity for government to seriously consider UHM’s proposal which poses a win-win situation not only for workers. While unions stand to gain in terms of membership, such proposal also gives peace of mind and stability to reputable employers and this would surely translate to a more fruitful social dialogue as all stakeholders would be around the table.