Maltese Academic: 1st May Hijacked By PNPL Duopoly ‘No Longer A Celebration But Memorial Of Disillusion’
On May 1st, International Workers’ Day, Malta joins over 80 countries to celebrate the plights and wins of workers, through speeches, demonstrations and symbolic gestures.
However, according to Maltese academic and philosophy doctoral researcher Francois Zammit, the day has been “hijacked by the PNPL duopoly” and has thus strayed away from the day’s true cause.
“Honest workers have their rights and safety trampled because of the inefficient and inactive authorities.”
He warned that the two major unions, The Malta Workers Union (UHM) and General Workers Union are in the pockets of the state, with their leaders being part of the political establishment and in cahoots with the major lobbies.
“GWU is itself making money through public-private partnership schemes,” he wrote in a scathing post on social media.
Moreover, the construction industry is exploiting workers to the point of unresolved fatalities.
“The Prime Minister refuses to launch a magisterial inquiry on the fatal accident of Jean Paul Sofia,” Zammit wrote, also citing countless injuries and fatalities on construction sites.
“But no one will touch the blood-stained hands of the construction lobby.”
Labour Party's rally in Valletta today, May 1st
Sofia’s mother, Isabelle Bonnici, took it upon herself to raise awareness of workers who died at work, placing a wreath at the Workers’ Monument in Msida today.
Foreign workers often take the brunt of abuse and are used for profit, Zammit continued with a growing number of working poor.
Lovin Malta has published countless accounts of foreign national abuse. From physical abuse to severe underpayment, the end of it doesn’t seem close.
Meanwhile, the academic said, “Millions of euros of taxpayer money instead of being used for welfare and social benefits are being handed out to the friends of friends”.
In the face of these complex battles, how do we reclaim the voice of workers?
Zammit told Lovin Malta that the first step boils down to reclaiming the day for what it really is about: workers and not politics.
“To reclaim we need party politics out of the celebration and actual workers’ lobbies taking the platform,” he explained.
“Malta’s policies are primarily driven by economic growth first, with everything else coming second. This is the myth of the trickle-down economy.”
Even workers’ unions, he said, have joined this mythologising and are scared to affect the economy negatively.
“The mantra is to be competitive. Low wages and subpar conditions offer this competitiveness,” he warned.
When it comes to solutions, Malta needs radical voices and serious debate.
“We need radical voices that offer an alternative and are not part of the status quo as GWU and UHM. A serious critical debate needs to be undertaken which also includes the needs of foreign nationals, then we can talk about reclaiming the day.”
Do you agree with Zammit’s arguments?
Cover photo: Workers’ Monument, Malta
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