‘Are We Second Class Workers?’: Malta’s Police Officers Are Still Not Being Granted Quarantine Leave
Malta’s police officers are still not being granted quarantine leave, thus being forced to use up a significant portion of their sick leave when put under mandatory quarantine.
This goes against Article 3 of Legal Notice 62/20, which specifies that every employee shall, on employment, be entitled to quarantine leave for any period as may be determined by the Superintendent of Public Health or any other public authority.
The Police Officers Union had brought this issue to light back in September, but to this day it seems like no action has been taken.
“The Police Officers Union has once again emailed the Prime Minister and the Home Affairs Minister to ask that officers that test positive for COVID-19 are given quarantine leave like every other government worker, rather than be forced to use up sick leave,” the union wrote.
The aforementioned article, which was published last March, also states that “quarantine leave applies to all employees, including those whose condition is governed by a Wage Regulation Order.”
“It is an injustice that government workers that test positive for COVID-19 are entitled to quarantine leave while police officers have to use up their sick leave. Our work involves meeting other people too. We are also frontliners,” the Union continued.
“Are we second class workers?”