The first collective agreement was signed for the workers of the International Protection Agency, in the Ministry for the Interior, Security, Reforms and Equality, between the government and the United Workers Union (UĦM). – Voice of the Workers.
This agreement will lead to several officers in respective ranks seeing improvements in working conditions and even increases in salaries. This agreement is for four years and covers until the year 2025, so all workers will be given back arrears from the year 2021.
Through this agreement, the agency’s employees will they will be forming part of a new structure that will offer them better opportunities for progress in the agency. In the same agreement measures are also being introduced to create a balance between the quality of life and work, while safeguarding the mental health of the employees.
The signing of the agreement took place in the presence of the Minister for the Interior, Security, Reforms and Equality, Byron Camilleri, who explained that this is one of the nine collective agreements signed in recent years in -Ministry for the Interior.
Minister Camilleri reiterated the commitment to ensure that each entity has a collective agreement that leads to good working conditions and better salaries for workers. In this case, the workers with whom today’s agreement was signed have an important role in the systems related to immigration, as this agency is responsible for the evaluations and decisions related to the applications for asylum. He concluded by recognizing the continuous commitment of all the workers of the International Protection Agency and thanked them for their work.
The agreement was signed done by the Chief Executive of the Agency for International Protection, Malcolm Cutajar, together with representatives of the employees of the same agency, as well as with representatives of the UħM.
Mario Sacco, Director at UħM – Voice of the Workers, said that this is the first collective agreement for this agency and that it offers an improvement in working conditions while creating a career structure for employees.
+3Present for this agreement was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for the Interior, Security, Reforms and Equality, Emmanuel Psaila, the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Joyce Cassar, and representatives from the industrial relations section in the Office of the Prime Minister. Photographs (MHSR).
