Private employers want the government to share the cost of the 14-day quarantine period that people returning from coronavirus-hit regions are being advised to undergo by the health authorities.
The Employment Relations Board will be meeting next week to discuss what the director general of the Malta Employers Association, Joe Farrugia, has described as a delicate situation.
He said the MEA wanted to clear the uncertainty over whether quarantine leave granted to private sector employees qualifies as special leave on full pay or whether it is a sort of extended sick leave period.
Under law, employees are entitled to a number of days of sick leave on full pay per year.
Government workers have been issued with a circular that requires them to stay at home under special quarantine leave on full pay, over and above their period of sick leave. Their managers are to make provisions for them to work from home if possible.
There is no such provision for private industry. The question private employers have is, who will pay for the extra leave granted to their own workers.
“There are a lot of questions and we will be meeting to discuss the issue. It’s a very delicate situation,” Mr Farrugia said.
He said there were some jobs that people could not do from home.
Employers also told Times of Malta that quarantine periods of two weeks for their employees could have serious repercussions on their production lines.
Asked for employers’ position on the matter, Mr Farrugia said: “People who are in quarantine are doing so for their health and in the best interest of the health of their co-workers. Health comes first but employers cannot shoulder the cost on their own.
“There is also the issue of abuse that needs to be discussed,” he added.
UĦM Voice of the Workers suggests the setting up of a special working group
The health authorities have instructed employees in government departments and entities who have visited any of the countries affected by the coronavirus to remain at home for 14 days from the date of departure from the country visited.
According to a circular issued on Wednesday by the People and Standards Division within the Office of the Prime Minister, the affected countries are China (including Hong Kong), Singapore, South Korea, Iran and Northern Italy.
No mention was made of Sicily, where a case has been confirmed.
Electronic proof of travel needs to be presented for verification purposes.
The circular said it was management’s prerogative whether to conduct house visits to verify that employees who are on quarantine leave are staying at home. It warned of disciplinary action against those who are not found at home.
Anyone travelling to the affected countries after February 28 is also required to stay at home for 14 days from the date of return but these workers will not be eligible for quarantine leave.
Employees have questioned whether quarantine leave granted to government workers also applies to spouses who work for the private sector and who would be required to stay at home in view of the close contact.
Meanwhile, in a statement UĦM Voice of the Workers asked the government to call a meeting for social partners to minimise the effect of coronavirus on employees.
It suggested the setting up of a special working group composed of health authorities, employees and unions to monitor the situation closely.
The union said that while the government had taken a position on quarantine leave for its workers, it had not issued a legal notice or at least guidelines on special leave for workers in the public sector.
It argued that quarantine leave could not be taken from one’s own personal leave unless anyone disobeyed preventive measures issued by the Health Division.