The Nationalist Party has presented a motion to amend legislation introduced earlier this year transposing an EU directive on work-life balance into Maltese law.

The directive, aimed to counter gender inequality by extending the rights of workers with children, had been negotiated by MEP David Casa and was adopted into Maltese law just days before the transposition deadline earlier this year.

The PN had immediately criticised the measures saying the government had given "too little almost too late".

Addressing a news conference on Thursday, the party’s spokesperson for employment, Ivan Castillo, equality spokesperson Graziella Attard Previ, and Casa said the measures they were proposing in their motion were an investment in Maltese families.

They said that because of this, the financial burden should be shouldered wholly by the government. 

The amendments the PN is proposing are for:

• parental and carers leave to be completely shouldered by the government at the average wage rate and not at sick leave rate;
• paternity leave to increase from 10 to 15 days as from January 2024 and for this to be paid in full by the government;
• parental leave to be paid at the average wage rate and for this to be non-transferable;
• the five days carers’ leave to be paid at the average wage rate;
• the self-employed to also benefit from parental, paternity and carers leave at the same rate enjoyed by employees; and
• the law to be backdated and available to new parents as of August 1, 2019.

They noted that the PN had already held a series of meetings with the social partners and civil society about the measures.