May 02 - May Day Message From The Chief Minister
On the 1st of May yesterday we celebrated international workers' day, a day which commemorates a time of civil unrest in the late 19th century when workers in industrialized countries demonstrated for improved working conditions, wage raises and the establishment of a maximum working day and week. Today, in 2014, it is right that we remember those who made sacrifices for workers’ rights, but it is important that we focus on making sure that we continue to strive to realise more rights for workers while preserving a competitive edge in the business world.
It is fitting that today we can reflect on the achievements that the Government, in conjunction with all the trade unions in Gibraltar, has delivered since my May Day addressed last year.
On that day I committed to the delivery of legislation to combat bullying in the workplace. A working group formed by members of Dignity At Work Now (DAWN), Unite The Union, GGCA and The Gibraltar Teachers Association in conjunction with Government officials have worked tirelessly over the past 18 months to deliver policy, procedures and legislation. This legislation has now gone through Parliament with the Government majority and will soon come into effect. A huge thank you goes out to all those individuals involved.
I committed to the delivery of equal work for equal pay in the Care Agency, and that was delivered within the calendar year.
And I committed to introduce a change to working hours in the Public Sector. I have been working on this issue since before the election with all trade unions. The new two-tier system of hours will come into effect on the 12 May this year.
All of these changes have been introduced to improve working conditions and make the work place a safer, happier and more productive environment. Yet we have done this in a framework that will provide a better service to both the public and to business.
This year, and as already communicated to you at Workers Memorial Day, I am committed to working with Unite The Union to introduce safety representatives in the work place. A working group has been in place since December and we are aiming to have a robust strategy and structure in place by not later than the end of this year.
This year we have also embarked on negotiating a Social Partnership Agreement with Unite. The main objective of this agreement is to maintain and develop the process of social dialogue in a series of industrial relations issues, which will allow us to make improvements in all sectors in a modern and democratic way. We are looking to extend this partnership to all trade unions in Gibraltar, thereby forging a coherent holistic approach to trade unionism which will leave us in good shape for the future.
Today is not a day for party politics but a day to celebrate the achievements made by workers over the years. Therefore once again I call on all political forces in Gibraltar to commit to keeping the 1st May a public holiday, irrespective of which day of the week it falls on, and on keeping Workers’ Memorial Day as a (long weekend) public holiday too. I will look forward to hearing their responses.
