If Maltese institutions claim that anything below the average wage is a poverty wage, isn’t it time for other authorities to take action? If below-average wages effectively discriminate against those with dependent family members, why is it legal for employers to pay such wages?
Our Top 15 Essays of 2019
In Malta, 2019 brought political crisis, but also stirred democratic mobilization. These essays, best-loved by our readers and editors, grasp the essence of the year.
Foreign Workers: Scapegoats for Environmental Degradation in Malta
To steer clear from empowering xenophobic arguments, green campaigners should not limit their criticism to developers’ faulty morals and lack of enforcement in the industry, since the perpetrators are prepared to shift the blame elsewhere. We must attack the source of their power: profits.
National Holiday Is Not for the Workers
Is the worker free to choose whether to work on a holiday or not? Is it truly a free choice? And if a worker feels the need to work on a holiday to earn double instead of taking a day off, what does this suggest about the cost of living?
Commemorating Sette Giugno in 2019: Calling for Strikes and Workers’ Uprising
A hundred years later, Sette Giugno events hit close to home. The blatant speculation and unfettered market practices that led to the spike in food prices in 1919 resemble untamed profiteering in Malta’s housing and labour markets in 2019.
“Picking up Rubbish”—It’s Black and White…
Picking up rubbish can be perceived differently depending on the circumstances… and skin colour of those doing the cleaning.
The True Cause of Low Wages in Malta? Hint: It’s Not Foreign Workers.
To find out more about the state of solidarity between workers of different ethnicity and their working conditions, I paid a visit to a private company which employs a large number of individuals from all over the world.
