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Back to school?
Parents, understandably, are questioning whether schools willreopen at the end of next month. However, common sense dictates that schools should only be reopened when it is safe for students. Going…
Office and work-life after COVID-19
COVID-19 has brought unprecedented human and humanitarian challenges. Many companies have risen to the occasion, actingswiftly to safeguard employees and migrate to a new way of working. Before the pandemic, the…
EU long-term budget deal must be improved for Parliament to accept it
In a resolution on the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council meeting of 17-21 July 2020, adopted by 465 votes against 150, with 67 abstentions, MEPs paid tribute to the victims of…
Mobility Projects for Vocational, Education and Training (VET) Learners and Staff through EU Funds
The Erasmus + programme is the main EU funding programme that deals with education, training, youth and sport. Amongst others, Erasmus+ provides the opportunity of mobility projects for VET learners and staff which may include one or more of…
Clientelism is a system deeply ingrained in our mentality
The cliental system is ingrained not just in Maltese politics but in the Maltese mentality. Clientelism is one of Malta’s societal ills enabling corruption and endangering democracy. Beneficiaries of clientelistic networks do…
We are being too reactive to the pandemic
If we were to analyze the actions taken by government in the first and second waves of the pandemic, we would conclude that the decisions taken on the two were different from each other. One recalls the decisions announced by government in recent months which were described with respect to the medical advice provided by the Health Authorities. The population of these islands had obeyed the advice propagated by public health specialists. Hence, collective discipline prevailed. In the first wave of the pandemic, the government was commended, particlularly by the World Health Organisation (WHO), for keeping the number of cases low. Subsequently, when we laxed the active cases began to rise again. The rush to get the economy back on its feet exasperated the WHO’s warnings to countries not to let go of their controls. What happened? Our country had responded to the demands of entrepeneurs, people in business and hoteliers, thereby failing to listen to the advice of the health authorities. Consequently, we witnessed a lot of confusion in the way things were communicated and discipline quickly fell apart. Cases have accumulated rapidly. We were told to enjoy summer. Several people quickly took off their masks and had fun at parties and entertainment venues. This has led to an explosion of COVID-19 cases and the government has now reacted by announcing new measures. This is not the way how to address the second wave of the pandemic. Government is being more reactive to the situation than active and is not taking the situation seriously. The well-being of workers and the most vulnerable is at stake. What concrete precautions are being taken to keep these people safe? In addition, social distancing must still be maintained at all times and those who disobey must be punished. Enforcement must be strong, serious and consistent whilst there should be no exceptions for violators. Let us be mature and use our common sense. Meanwhile, Voice of the Workers continues to urge the government to do more to control the virus before it has fatal effects on both the vulnerable and the country’s economy.
Citizens call for a bigger EU budget to tackle crisis, new survey shows
In a new survey commissioned by the European Parliament and conducted in the second half of June 2020, nearly seven out of ten respondents (68%) want a stronger role for…
The European Skills Agenda – paving the way for a more competitive future
The world is still recovering from an unprecedented period as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our day-to-day lives in various ways. The European Commission wants to turn such challenges into…
COVID-19 cases have spiked and causing problems to workers and the vulnerable
“The situation is under control in the best possible way”. This was stated by the Prime Minister when asked by journalists about the increase of COVID-19 cases. However, the same must not be said with regards to workers, particularly the vulnerable, because the state of affairs is not really under control. Several health workers, who are amongst the country’s frontliners, are under great stress due to the load of work that has picked up pace with the addition of more coronavirus cases. Workers who are involved in this sector, and who are vulnerable, are also concerned and burdened with worries that they could get infected if the precautions taken were to be relaxed. As many families are once again keeping their beloved vulnerable kinsfolk indoors and the general public is once again taking more precautions to prevent the virus, the Government remains insensitive to the concerns of many. A particular worker who spoke to Voice of the Workers had harsh words for the authorities because due to his vulnerability and since his work involves direct contact with the public, he cannot physically return to his workplace. This vulnerable person, along with others, is a victim of the system because he remained vulnerable, while the Government continued to run business as usual. Detention Services workers and members of the Armed Forces of Malta are also concerned about the recent circumstances when amongts the last group of irregular immigrants brought ashore, a substantial number of them tested positive for coronavirus. This fact exacerbates more pressure on health workers, especially those who handle swabbing tests. In addition, decreases in productivity and the reduction in the financial income of certain companies, led to several workers working three or four days a week. After the restrictions were lifted and cases dropped drastically, such workers were allowed to go back to the five-day-week system. However, since the number of cases is spiralling, workers are worrying that they will work fewer days resulting in a reduced salary. Moreover, parents are also preoccupied with the fact that they do not know what’s going to happen when schools reopen in September. Voice of the Workers calls on the Government to listen to health experts and to what unions say in order to safeguard the health and safety of all. Government must do its utmost not to endanger the labour market so that workers and their families avoid another turbulent episode in their lives.
Government chooses to enrich the few and endanger people’s health
Our country needs to be led seriously because we are facing a dangerous situation whereby we shall witness an ‘explosion’ of Covid-19 cases. A marathon meeting, which lasted almost eight hours, between the social partners and the Prime Minister on Thursday 6th August, did not lead to the complete cancellation of mass activities. Despite the various concerns raised by representatives of the social partners, Government does not want to change its course but wants to resume with public events (albeit with a limited number of attendees) in the midst of a pandemic. Other European countries have ordered the cessation of mass events. On the contrary, the Maltese Government does not want to give in to the pressure being put on it by those who have the welfare of the Maltese at heart. Government, instead, wants to keep our country open to foreigners. Voice of the Workers stresses that in order to have a healthy economy we need a healthy population. The government is there to safeguard the people’s health. It is useless to open up the economy and facilitate business, when Coronavirus cases are on the rise. It seems that government has long forgotten that restrictions ordered by itself had forced many Maltese to stay indoors. Now it has to do away with the sacrifices made by all because of decisions that benefit those who want to profit swiftly to the detriment of the rest of the population. Meanwhile, this portal appeals to the public to continue following the advice and appeals provided by the health authorities. We all have to be in control of ourselves and be responsbible to where we are going. It is also important for vulnerable people to be given continuous protection and whoever goes outdoors must pay attention to himself/herself and to others. Voice of the Workers recalls that Malta has been fighting the pandemic for five months and unfortunately, when we look back, we see that government has not learned anything. Instead it is taking rash decisions without heeding to the concerns pertaining to the health of the Maltese population. (This editorial was submitted on Friday 7th August and may have been superseded by events)