The UĦM Voice of the Workers wants the next Government to set up an employment contracts portal, with the aim of ensuring that all employees in the country have a proper contract.

Following the announcement of a general election on 30th May, WhosWho.mt contacted the UHM’s CEO, Josef Vella, who outlined several proposals which the union would like to see the next government implement.

The employment contracts portal is a measure which the union has for years been pushing, but has not yet been implemented.

"Not all employees in the labour market today have a proper employment contract. They might have a paper showing their conditions and salary, but not a proper contract," Mr Vella said.

The portal, he said, would be a way to bind employers to provide written contracts, and through technology and artificial intelligence would not allow a contract with a clause which goes against the law to proceed to signing until it is brought in line. Once everything is settled, the contract would then be signed and registered on the portal for an authority to handle, he explained.

"It is a form of just-in-time system."

Another point the UHM wants tacked is the free riders issue, referring to employees who do not form part of a union but are benefitting from collective agreements. Here, he said, the UHM is proposing that employees in companies or entities which benefit from a collective agreement, but who do not form part of any trade union, should at least pay a contribution equal to the membership fee of the majority union to any registered union of their choice, or pay that fee into a fund aimed at promoting trade unions.

He said that over the past years, people have been asking why they should join a union if other employees within a company are already paying. "If people continue doing this, we will see a decline in unionisation."

The UHM is also proposing mandatory unionisation for low-income workers.

"Many issues seen over the years related to precarious working conditions or to equal pay for jobs of equal value issues mostly revolved around employers who were not registered with an employer association and employees who were not registered with any trade union."

He said that the UHM does not agree with mandatory union membership for all employees, noting that those with the median or higher income might not need a union. But he said that those below a certain income threshold should have to join a union of their choice. "We have to be a bit paternalistic with the vulnerable to avoid situations where some employers could abuse of them." He said that he still hears stories of people being threatened not to join a union, or being fired for trying to entice colleagues to join one.

He was asked about the legality of mandatory membership in any form, given that Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue Andy Ellul had in 2025 said that according to advice received, legally, it is not advisable for the Government to promote mandatory union membership. The UHM CEO said that taking freedom of association to mean that one can choose not to join a union, is right for those who are non-vulnerable employees, but he feels it is not the right stance for vulnerable employees.

Another UHM proposal, Mr Vella said, is for the introduction of a new right expressly written into law, which would allow one of the parents of a child to, should they wish at any one time, stay home to raise their child until they reach the age of three while also receiving some form of salary. This would be a right and would not require a parent applying for some form of family friendly measure, Mr Vella said.

He described the first three years as being very important for a child’s development. Parents today struggle finding time to raise their children as both have to work, he said. "Couples don't have a choice as they cannot afford not to work in most cases due to financial pressures. Then once they have a child, its as though they almost have to be rescued through the free childcare scheme as they have to continue working."

Such a measure, Mr Vella said, would encourage more couples to become parents than the family friendly measures which political parties have been proposing.

Eurostat data (for 2024) has shown that Malta has the lowest fertility rate in the EU at 1.01 live births per woman.

Other measures the union would want to see introduced include the removal of tax on the COLA, and the removal of taxation on the amount people pay as National Insurance.