As provided for in our Constitution, the “State
recognises the right of all citizens to work and shall promote such
conditions as will make this right effective”.
1 The right to work is further safeguarded by the
Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Chapter 452 of the Laws of
Malta) (hereinafter, ‘the EIRA'), being the main piece
of legislation regulating the employment industry in Malta. The
EIRA, together with its various subsidiary legislations, covers a
wide array of matters, including, amongst others, the protection of
employees' wages.
Definition
‘Wages' are defined under the EIRA as any kind
of “remuneration or earnings, payable by an employer
to an employee”.2 One can appreciate
that this definition is quite generic, covering any earnings, other
than any bonus or allowance related to the employee's
performance, furnished by the employer to the employee during the
latter's period of employment.
