Right to disconnect: Employers say Malta should not ‘be used as a guinea pig’

Employers have urged government not to use Malta as a “guinea pig” by introducing the Right to disconnect before the European Union Directive actually comes into force.

The Malta Employers’ Association (MEA) statement came in reaction to this week’s edition of Indepth, during which MEP Alex Agius Saliba said government has hinted that Malta could be among the first member state to introduce the set of rights.

The Right to disconnect allows workers to refrain from engaging in work-related tasks, activities and electronic communication, such as phone calls, emails and other messages, outside their working time.

The MEA voiced its “strong disagreement” with the implementation of the

right to disconnect in Malta before the directive is transposed by the EU.

It said that currently there are sensitive discussions taking place between the social partners at EU-level and it would be “completely premature” to introduce local legislation before the directive is issued.

“There are still many aspects of this concept which are nebulous and it would be irresponsible to act before a common denominator for all EU countries is established,” MEA said.

The Association said that employers’ and workers’ organisations are actively engaged in negotiations through their affiliations in EU social dialogue institutions “so there is no rational reason to rush things locally”.

“Thus far, there have been no local studies that determine the nature or even the extent of the issue. It should be obvious that these matters cannot be approached impulsively, as the result can be detrimental to the smooth operation of both private and public sector organisations,” it continued.

“Such a directive cannot be applicable across the board for all employees, but depends on the level of responsibility, the nature of the work and what is considered the normal time of work in that particular field. In addition, Malta should never be used as a ‘guinea pig’ so that other countries may learn and benefit from our mistakes and half-baked measures can have negative implications on both employers and employees.”