One of the cardinal principles which every trade union has at heart is that of equal pay for jobs of equal value. It was thus shocking when news broke that Malta Public Transport was seeking to engage bus drivers through a UK subcontractor at a rate of almost three times as much as the standard salary set by the collective agreement. The fact that the company backtracked and ditched this plan, should not in any way detract from the gravity of the matter.

MTP’s U-turn smacked more like a decision stemming from convenience rather than conviction. Such feeling emanates from the sequence of events which saw a public outcry against this blatant discrimination against its own bus drivers and the looming industrial action from UHM Voice of the Workers.

At the height of the controversy, the company reportedly defended its decision claiming this was not tantamount to any discrimination or illegality. Moreover, it tried distancing itself from the issue saying it was not privy to the individual contracts being offered by the UK contract. The bottom line, however, is that this would have nonetheless resulted in drivers getting paid three times as much as their colleagues for doing identical trips with the same buses. The mind boggles how such a situation would not constitute blatant abuse and discrimination.

Now that the dust is starting to settle there are other consideration to look at. From a financial perspective the fact that the company was willing to offer higher remuneration raises various questions. Why was no genuine attempt made to improve the conditions and basic pay of existing drivers which would have also made the job more attractive for Maltese and foreign drivers? Is the company willing to admit it committed a grave mistake and put this chapter behind it and sit down with the union to improve the existing package for its staff?

Moreover, it is of concern that such plan was not only devised but also executed to the very end. Even after ditching this recruitment, the company insisted that it acted in line with legislation. If this is the case, there are serious flaws in the Maltese labour laws which need to be addressed as soon as possible. Given that the government has recently announced its intention to study archaic wage regulation orders, time has never been so ripe to enact such reform.