We are a number of civil society organisations representing parents, carers, workers and those working for gender equality and the rights of LGBTQI+ people. We are holding this press conference outside Parliament to demand that the Work-Life Balance law be revisited with the aim of improving it.

The law – which came into effect in August 2022 – was a result of the European Union’s effort to improve work-life balance for parents and carers, encourage men and women to share parenting /caring responsibilities more equally and increase participation of women in the labour market. Each country was required to implement legislation in line with the EU’s Directive.

We are disappointed that, during the 3 years from the Directive’s approval in 2019, the government has not even bothered to consult with civil society. The Legal Notice was never issued for public consultation and when the August deadline came, the Government only made the least possible changes in the law, as stipulated by the Directive. We believe that the current law will fail to reach its intended purpose. Consequently, we are asking that the law be improved – in consultation with civil society and relevant experts – in five areas:

1. Better remuneration of Parental Leave: Currently, parents get 2 months of Parental Leave at sick pay level; €21.85 a day. Expecting parents to subsist on this pay when family costs shoot up and with the current cost of living rise is unrealistic. This rate needs to be improved drastically.
2. Remuneration for Carers’ Leave: Currently, carers get 5 days of unpaid Caring Leave yearly. The idea that caring should be provided for free perpetuates the charity model towards disability and those in need of care. Moreover, not everyone will afford to take up this leave with the current increase in the cost of living. Carers’ Leave should be paid in full.
3. Longer and more flexible Parental Leave: Fathers have access to 10 days of paid Paternal Leave. They also have access to 2 months of Parental Leave at sick pay level and another 2 unpaid months of Parental Leave, which they need to split & share with their partner. It is often the case that the mother ends up taking this Leave. We want to see a longer period of Parental Leave at full pay to truly encourage and enable parents to share caring responsibilities

   On a related note, the 2 weeks of Paternity Leave at full pay can only be taken right after the child’s birth/adoption.  Moreover, the current senseless restrictions on the take-up of Parental leave – whereby parents can only make use of this leave in a staggered manner until the child is 8 years of age – should be removed and parents should be allowed, if they wish, to make use of this leave all at once. Every birth, adoption and family is different, so flexibility on when to take Paternity and Parental Leave is important.

4. Better guidelines for Flexible Work Arrangements, extension to all: Working parents have a right to request Flexible Work. What will happen if the employer refuses to offer flexibility? Who will decide if the request is fair or not?   And why restrict it only to parents of children who are 8 years old?  All workers need flexibility and this restriction will create an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality which will put those requesting Flexible Work Arrangements in a bad light.

This law affects many workers who will continue to find it difficult to combine their work and caring responsibilities. The current law does not encourage a more just distribution of caring responsibilities between partners or among family members. This law needs to be revisited, and the Government needs to keep in mind that workers are also parents, have elderly relatives, small children or persons with disabilities to care for. Some people’s caring responsibilities do not end when children reach a certain age. The government needs to remember that for carers who do not have anyone to share their caring responsibilities with, such as when they have one parent or have no siblings, finding a balance between work and care is even more difficult. The Government also needs to keep in mind that workers’ and carers’ quality of life is jeopardised when their responsibilities do not leave them time for personal care – this will be to the detriment of themselves and society.

The organisations sent a letter to MP Dr Andy Ellul in August expressing their concerns. In his reply, Dr Ellul disagreed with all the points raised but said that the Government intends to build on measures such as these to improve quality of life. The organisations are demanding that he put words to action sooner rather than later. Our families deserve better.

This event is organised by Moviment Graffitti and endorsed by Aditus, Malta Women’s Lobby, the Maltese Daddy father’s lobby, MGRM, National Parents Society of Persons with Disability (NPSPD), Women’s Right Foundation.

Aħna numru ta’ organizzazzjonijiet tas-soċjetà ċivili li nirrappreżentaw lill-ġenituri, carers, ħaddiema u lil dawk li jaħdmu għall-ugwaljanza bejn is-sessi u d-drittijiet tal-persuni LGBTQI+. Qegħdin nagħmlu din il-konferenza stampa barra l-Parlament biex nitolbu li l-liġi dwar il-Bilanċ bejn ix-Xogħol u l-Ħajja tkun mibdula għall-aħjar.

Il-liġi – li daħlet fis-seħħ f’Awwissu 2022 – kienet riżultat tal-isforz tal-Unjoni Ewropea biex ittejjeb il-bilanċ bejn ix-xogħol u l-ħajja privata għall-ġenituri u carers, tinkoraġġixxi lill-irġiel u lin-nisa jaqsmu r-responsabbiltajiet tat-trobbija/ħarsien tat-tfal  b’mod aktar ugwali u żżid il-parteċipazzjoni tan-nisa fis-suq tax-xogħol. Kull pajjiż kien meħtieġ jimplimenta leġiżlazzjoni skont id-Direttiva tal-UE.

Aħna diżappuntati li, matul it-3 snin mill-approvazzjoni tad-Direttiva fl-2019, il-gvern lanqas biss indenja ruħu jikkonsulta mas-soċjetà ċivili. L-Avviż Legali qatt ma ħareġ għall-konsultazzjoni pubblika u meta wasal Awwissu, il-Gvern għamel biss l-inqas bidliet possibbli fil-liġi, kif stipulat mid-Direttiva. Nemmnu li l-liġi attwali se tonqos milli tilħaq l-iskop maħsub tagħha. Konsegwentement, qed nitolbu li l-liġi tittejjeb – b’konsultazzjoni mas-soċjetà ċivili u esperti rilevanti – f’ħames oqsma:

1. Remunerazzjoni aħjar tal-Leave tal-Ġenituri: Bħalissa, il-ġenituri jieħdu xahrejn Leave tal-Ġenituri imħallas bl-istess rata tas-sick leave; €21.85 kuljum. Li wieħed jistenna li l-ġenituri jibqgħu jgħixu b’din il-paga meta l-ispejjeż tal-familja jogħlew u maż-żieda attwali tal-għoli tal-ħajja mhuwiex realistiku. Din ir-rata trid titjieb drastikament.
2. Remunerazzjoni għal Carers’ Leave: Bħalissa, il-carers jieħdu 5 ijiem ta’ Caring Leave mhux imħallas kull sena. L-idea li l-kura għandha tingħata b’xejn tipperpetwa l-mudell ta’ karità lejn id-diżabilità u dawk li għandhom bżonn xi forma ta’ ħarsien. Barra minn hekk, mhux kulħadd se jaffordja li jieħu dan il-leave biż-żieda attwali fl-għoli tal-ħajja. Il-Carers’ Leave għandu jkun imħallas kollu.
3. Leave tal-Ġenituri itwal u aktar flessibbli: Il-missirijiet għandhom aċċess għal 10 ijiem ta’ Leave tal-Paternita’ imħallas. Huma għandhom ukoll aċċess għal xahrejn ta’ Leave tal-Ġenituri imħallas bir-rata ta’ sick leave u xahrejn oħra mhux imħallsa ta’ Leave tal-Ġenituri, li għandu bżonn jinqasam mal-partner tagħhom. Ħafna drabi l-omm tispiċċa tieħu dan il-Leave. Irridu naraw perjodu itwal ta’ Leave tal-Ġenituri b’paga sħiħa biex verament ninkoraġġixxu u nħallu lill-ġenituri jaqsmu r-responsabbiltajiet tal-ħarsien tal-ulied.

   Fuq nota relatata, il-ġimagħtejn Leave tal-Paternità b’paga sħiħa jistgħu jittieħdu biss eżatt wara t-twelid/l-adozzjoni tal-wild. Barra minn hekk, ir-restrizzjonijiet bla sens dwar it-teħid tal-leave tal-ġenituri – fejn il-ġenituri jistgħu jagħmlu użu minn dan il-leave biss b’mod imqassam sakemm it-tifel/tifla jagħlaq 8 snin – għandhom jitneħħew u l-ġenituri għandhom jitħallew, jekk jixtiequ, li jagħmlu użu minn dan il-leave f’daqqa. Kull twelid, adozzjoni u familja huma differenti, għalhekk il-flessibbiltà dwar meta jittieħed il-Leave tal-Paternità u l-Ġenituri hija importanti.

4. Linji gwida aħjar għall-Arranġamenti ta’ Xogħol Flessibbli, estensjoni għal kulħadd: Il-ġenituri li jaħdmu għandhom id-dritt li jitolbu Xogħol Flessibbli. X’jiġri jekk min iħaddem jirrifjuta li joffri flessibbiltà? Min se jiddeċiedi jekk it-talba hijiex ġusta jew le? U għaliex hi ristretta biss għal ġenituri ta’ tfal li għandhom 8 snin? Il-ħaddiema kollha jeħtieġu flessibbiltà u din ir-restrizzjoni se toħloq mentalità ta’ ‘aħna’ u ‘huma’ li se tpoġġi f’dawl ħażin lil dawk li jitolbu Arranġamenti ta’ Xogħol Flessibbli.

Din il-liġi taffettwa ħafna ħaddiema li se jkomplu jsibuha diffiċli biex jgħaqqdu x-xogħol tagħhom mar-responsabbiltajiet personali. Il-liġi attwali ma tħeġġiġx tqassim aktar ġust tar-responsabbiltajiet ta’ ħarsien bejn il-partners jew fost il-membri tal-familja. Din il-liġi trid tiġi riveduta, u l-Gvern irid iżomm f’moħħu li l-ħaddiema huma wkoll ġenituri, għandhom qraba anzjani, tfal żgħar jew persuni b’diżabbiltà x’jieħdu ħsieb. Ir-responsabbiltajiet tal-ħarsien ta’ xi nies ma jispiċċawx meta t-tfal jilħqu ċertu età. Jeħtieġ li l-gvern jiftakar li għal carers li m’għandhomx ma’ min jaqsmu r-responsabbiltajiet tagħhom ma’ ħaddieħor bħal fil-każ ta’ ġenitur wieħed jew jekk  ma jkollhomx aħwa, li jsibu bilanċ bejn ix-xogħol u l-ħarsien ta’ dipendenti huwa saħansitra aktar diffiċli. Il-Gvern irid iżomm f’moħħu wkoll li l-kwalità tal-ħajja tal-ħaddiema u tal-carers hija mhedda meta r-responsabbiltajiet tagħhom ma jħallulhomx ħin għall-ħajja personali – dan ikun għad-detriment tagħhom u tas-soċjetà.

L-organizzazzjonijiet bagħtu ittra lid-Deputat Dr Andy Ellul f’Awwissu fejn esprimew it-tħassib tagħhom dwar il-liġi. Fit-tweġiba tiegħu, Dr Ellul ma qabilx mal-punti kollha mqajma iżda qal li l-Gvern bi ħsiebu jibni fuq miżuri bħal dawn biex itejjeb il-kwalità tal-ħajja. L-organizzazzjonijiet qed jitolbu li jpoġġi l-kliem f’azzjoni mill-iktar fis possibbli. Il-familji tagħna jixirqilhom aħjar.

Din l-attività hija organizzata mill-Moviment Graffitti u appoġġjata minn Aditus, Malta Women’s Lobby, Maltese Daddy father’s lobby, MGRM, National Parents Society of Persons with Disability (NPSPD), Women’s Right Foundation.