A Maltese Government Minister has expressed concern at the possibility of widespread teleworking in the Public Service becoming permanent.
Minister for Employment, Clyde Caruana feared it would lead to resentment among those whose job would still require them to go to the office at all times.
Mr Caruana was replying to a number of queries by David Thake, of the Nationalist Party, during question time in Parliament who argued that a balance needed to be struck.
He said that in order to minimise the risk of a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic spreading within the public sector, more Public Servants were being provided with the opportunity to telework once more.
“Though allowing people to work from the comfort of their own homes may appear to be an optimal solution, it can create disagreements among workers and may lead to unjust situations,” Mr Caruana said.
The Minister emphasised that not everyone could benefit from teleworking — front office staff would obviously need to be present at all times — and if their colleagues were allowed to stay home when they could not, complaints would arise.
He highlighted that unions had complained over the matter, and that it could create issues even between workers on the same grade.
Mr Thake was unimpressed by the Mr Caruana’s reply however, stating that such problems required planning to solve.
“So my question is, what are you doing to solve this problem and encourage teleworking?” Mr Thake said.
In reply, Mr Caruana questioned Mr Thake’s experience of managing people in a workplace, saying the MP did not understand the problems that could arise through workers’ interactions with each other.
“If he cannot understand, then that is his problem,” Mr Caruana said.
Valetta, 10 March 2021
