Study points to political discrimination at workplaces

Malta yesterday joined the EU's 24 other member states in a common campaign to promote the benefits of diversity and to inform society on new rights and obligations to battle discrimination on the place of work.

Themed For Diversity Against Discrimination, the European Commission's campaign is intended to combat the different roots of discrimination in all member states.

The commission has appointed the organisation Media Consulta to disseminate the information and launch the campaign in all 25 countries. It draws on a network of correspondents with expertise in the fields of social welfare and employment in every member state.

In Malta the campaign was introduced in cooperation with the Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina and Media Consulta (Malta) managing director Andrew Warrington.

On a pan-European front, a conference is being organised in Latvia's capital Riga in about two months to discuss ways of combating discrimination.

A truck, which transforms into a concert stage, will go on tour around all the member states to generate awareness on diversity. Mr Warrington said that on a national front, Media Consulta had formed a working group with numerous stakeholders including trade unions, employers' associations, non-governmental organisation and ministries to get to the core of discrimination.

"Discrimination manifests itself differently in every country. From the feedback we received from those within the working group, discrimination in Malta was mostly aimed at Arabs, women and people with a different sexual orientation," he said.

An interesting point which emerged in Malta was political discrimination on the place of work.

Ms Cristina said that Legal Notice 297 clearly prohibited discrimination on the basis of religion or belief, disability, age, sexual orientation, race or ethnic origin.

She said it was important that Maltese employees were not only legally protected against discrimination but were also informed of their rights and obligations.

"It is also essential that the benefits of diversity in the workforce are highlighted. Organisations guided by the principle of social inclusion often find that creativity and innovation at the workplace are enhanced," she said.

Mr Warrington said the first activity of the five-year campaign in Malta was the Europe-wide Journalist Award 2004 which aimed to give recognition to journalists who contributed to a better understanding of the benefits of diversity and the fight against discrimination at the workplace. The deadline for entries is October 5 and the first prize is €3,000 for travel in any member state.

www.stopdiscrimination.info