Working conditions for Malta-based members of the country's diplomatic corps will improve thanks to a new deal struck with union UĦM – Voice of the Workers, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday. 

The deal, which is the first of its kind in 25 years, is backdated to January 1. 

It will provide improved working conditions for 123 members of Malta’s diplomatic corps, an additional allowance, and the prospect of faster career progression. 

Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela said he was pleased to see the deal in place, and thanked the people who had worked to ensure it happened. 

He said the government would soon issue a public call for more young people to join Malta’s diplomatic corps. 

“Last year, an embassy opened in Ghana, in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said. “This year, preparatory works have begun to open an embassy in Tokyo and a consulate in Morocco”.

UĦM – Voice of the Workers CEO Josef Vella hailed diplomats as a “corps that works in silence” and expressed admiration for the work they did. 

He echoed the minister’s calls for more young people to choose a career in diplomacy. 

The agreement was signed by the permanent secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Fiona Formosa and director Victor Grech, as well as by Jesmond Bonello and Edwin Balzan on behalf of UĦM – Voice of the Workers.