Analysing 'Equal Pay For Equal Work' In Malta

General

The saying 'equal pay for equal work' has somewhat become a cliché mantra often cited in employment matters. It is a guiding-principle which employers are afraid to infringe, and a protective safeguard which employees are quick to invoke whenever they feel that others are getting paid more than them.

Due to how commonplace this maxim has become, many fail to realise that there is more to it than meets the eye. When unpacked, this legal principle reveals a number of complex questions:

1. What constitutes 'equal work'?
2. What is covered by 'equal pay'?

Maltese law leaves these questions unanswered. Indeed, 'equal pay for equal work' in Malta is enshrined in Article 27 of the Maltese Employment and Industrial Relations Act (EIRA), which owes its origin to EU Council Directive 75/117/EEC. This article merely states that saving different salary conditions for employees employed in different times, employees in the same class of employment are entitled