Head of EC Representation in Malta Dr Joanna Drake believes that any investment aimed at bringing more equality in the workplace should be encouraged, especially during such times of economic uncertainty. Interview by DAVID DARMANIN
How do you evaluate your last three and a half years as Head of EC representation? The experience was very engaging so far, since my appointment came soon after EU accession. Malta’s membership into the EU came after a political battle of 15 years on the issue, and the positive side of this is that we Maltese are now informed and interested in EU issues. In a post-membership scenario, our challenge is much bigger than that of those countries joining with us. Expectations were and still are extremely high. The risk factor here is that a number of people expect the EU to resolve all their problems, and we often have to deal with this issue – in an office of just 12. Luckily, we use our resources very carefully. We have here discovered the benefits of talent management, so our driver for example, is tasked with a lot of other work. Our budgets, albeit not phenomenal, are not a huge problem since these are revised year-to-year according to how active our operation is.
What direction has your office taken since your appointment? The representation has taken three main directions. First of all, we are ready to listen. A democratic approach has enabled us to allow people to use the EU better. We conducted a wide consultation with civil society, NGDOs, unions and government institutions to draft and implement our work plan.
Secondly, we needed to be service-oriented if we were to meet public expectation. The office falls under the communications portfolio of the European Commission, and this means that we bridge communication between Malta and Brussels bilaterally. We are not simply about informing the European Commission about Malta but also about informing Malta about the EU. When the agricultural reform was announced last summer for example, we had over people from Brussels to conduct a dialogue with local stakeholders.
We also deliver a free and personalised service on citizen rights. We inform the Maltese public on legal issues in several areas – at times even on issues not falling within the jurisdiction of the EU – such as family law and heredity. We explain to people requesting information what the EU can or cannot do and where they stand within their rights as citizens – be it when it comes to directives concerning the environment, the quality of water, gender equality or otherwise.
We understood that the primary expectation among the Maltese when it comes to the EU is funding. We often get requests for information on funding of several undertakings – such as scholarships. But the way EU funding works is very often misperceived, so we provide the correct information. We understood we should be very active in our contribution towards education and dissemination of information. This is why we also organise training courses for free on how to go about European funding, among others.
Our third stream follows the idea of creating partnerships. We realise that we cannot be alone in the provision of expertise in specialised branches. This is why when it comes to specific issues concerning business, agriculture or tourism to mention a few – we form a number of partnerships with small or large organisations – including MEUSEC, the EU intermediary body. With both the European Parliament office in Malta and MEUSEC, we work on a management partnership based on a framework agreement signed last month, for which a budget of €200,000 was allocated for the effective dissemination of information.
I am not expecting that all our objectives are met in a short time, but we can now comfortably say that we left no stone unturned in those areas where we feel we can most contribute to oil the machine and meet people’s expectations.
Is our human resource culture in Malta up to standard? There are a lot of advantages in the Maltese human resources culture, but we simply do not have the numbers – this is what we suffer from most. Let us draw a comparison between this office, employing 12 people, and our counterpart in Berlin – which employs 50. In certain areas, we are expected to deliver as much as larger offices – and we have achieved this by being smart – building the right human resource culture to help us reach our goals. There are many examples of offices adopting a very similar strategy in Malta, and Maltese workers react very positively to this because we tend to be multi-talented.
When it comes to employee rights, I don’t think we have a bad record in Malta but undeniably, there is room for improvement when it comes to working conditions and the protection of rights. Possibly, more work is needed for the improvement of those institutions whose role is to enforce. There is also room for some improvement when it comes to salaries, although the standard of living in Malta can very much be compared to many other EU member states.
The Maltese worker can adapt to different situations easily – which I think is very important at this time of economic uncertainty.
Luckily, the EU created a framework that gives governments of member states the right to help those companies undergoing turmoil that may affect their employees. Such funding is being used in HR re-training, among other things. Because we can adapt very well, such investment becomes very effective in Malta – this is one of the advantages of being small.
What about gender equality and rights in the workplace? I believe there is a lot more work to do in this area. There is so much talent that is not yet absorbed by the market, and we cannot possibly afford this to continue. Men and women have different skill sets and capabilities and the labour market needs a balance of both. Women are at times left out on grounds of them being more interested in work-life balance than men, but this is a gross misconception. Both genders are inclined to have a healthy work-life balance. Our mistake is in thinking that this is a problem that belongs only to women. Let us find a way to remove these rigidities which are blocking talent in the labour market. This issue causes a lot of frustration, and it is leading to squeezing out talents, therefore resulting in brain drain. The issue also causes family problems at times. If we do care for family values, we must then ensure that the labour market is serviced with the flexibility to include both genders. Every time events are organised on Women’s Day, I cringe when invariably – the work-life balance issue comes up as though it is a problem that does not belong to men too.
Women are under-represented in decision making jobs. I am not saying there is a hidden agenda – but we are simply not flexible enough.
How do you react to those employers using the argument that they would not be able to afford paying for maternity leave, and therefore opt for the employment of men instead?
You can look at this from a point of view where you only count in the expense, but we need to look beyond. If you lose a trained employee, you will automatically incur expenses. What guarantee does the employer have that a man will not move out of a job before a female counterpart takes maternity leave? Should gender matter? If people are good, they’re good and gender is completely irrelevant. What guarantee does an employer have that a man will not take paternal leave?
As we stand, the chances of a man opting for paternal leave are much smaller than those of a woman taking maternal leave… True, there are not enough men opting for paternity leave – but if we keep perpetuating the idea that these are women’s issues how are we expected to move forward? There must be a strong message passed on by the top-most parliamentary authorities that gender is completely irrelevant.
What are your views on the idea of regulating the working week? The fact that 15 out of 27 countries opted out of it is a good enough sign that there is not much hope that the idea of a regulated working week will go through. We are also in a dire economic situation, which in itself, is a circumstance that certainly does not favour this idea.
What has the EU done to bring more equality in the workplace? The EU has been working on this for the past 50 years. In 1975, the equal pay directive was introduced. The European average is of a 17 per cent discrepancy in salaries between men and women – and Malta stands at 10 per cent, which is not bad. There was a vast number of other directives aimed at gender equality at the workplace, but let us also remember that in the meantime, the European Courts of Justice enforced the directives and created solid precedents which have helped in no small way to bring more equality to the workplace. But ultimately, the primary responsibility of enforcement lies within national bodies – which evidently need to be backed up by sufficient resources to carry out such enforcement as effectively as possible.
In a local situation, do you really believe there is enough enforcement on gender equality at work? I would say we are in a time of evolution. Transposing the law to local legislation is one thing, applying it is another. What we need is a culture change, and this part is the most difficult. Some positive efforts have been made, but the awareness needs to be there. We need more cases of people who find the courage to report cases of discrimination. Some victims may either be scared or to some extent, maybe even disheartened by the system.
We no longer hear news about brain-drain in Malta, an issue which had garnered vast media attention shortly after accession. Do we not have a problem anymore in this regard? It seems that the panic on brain-drain has subsided, although there still seems to be a problem in the health sector. I don’t see this as a long-term problem though. When doctors leave the country to pursue different opportunities for example, they will more often than not analyse the whole package at some point, and many return to Malta. As a result, the health sector will become stronger and more specialised due to work experiences abroad. Mobility should actually be encouraged – we should not be scared of it.
There has been a lot of talk on the integration of third country nationals in the workplace. What are your views on this? The EU is completely in favour of social and workplace integration for those third country nationals here legally. It is however against the employment of those who are here without status – since this distorts the internal market. Also, human resources from any country should be respected and nobody should be exploited. Those who are here legally should be offered incentives to help them integrate, because the commission wants to offer them a better future.
In practical terms, is this the right time to talk about investment in human resources, when all we see around us is lay-offs and factories going on a four-day week? Let us make an analogy. What is the G20 saying ultimately? That we should stop investing? It is in fact saying the exact opposite. Investment is being encouraged so we can take off, and same goes with human resources. In no way am I saying that businesses should be suffocated. But we are in a situation where regardless of the circumstances, certain investments will have to be made. Slowing down is not an option.
The experience was very engaging so far, since my appointment came soon after EU accession. Malta’s membership into the EU came after a political battle of 15 years on the issue, and the positive side of this is that we Maltese are now informed and interested in EU issues. In a post-membership scenario, our challenge is much bigger than that of those countries joining with us. Expectations were and still are extremely high. The risk factor here is that a number of people expect the EU to resolve all their problems, and we often have to deal with this issue – in an office of just 12. Luckily, we use our resources very carefully. We have here discovered the benefits of talent management, so our driver for example, is tasked with a lot of other work. Our budgets, albeit not phenomenal, are not a huge problem since these are revised year-to-year according to how active our operation is. 
