The implementation of the racial and employment equality EU directives against social exclusion in Malta

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to understand why the European Union (EU) and Malta are addressing social exclusion and poverty in relation to discrimination and inequality. This dissertation will particularly refer to Directive 2000/43/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin and Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation and their implementation in Malta. This study will address social exclusion locally through the implementation of legislation and its enforcement by organisations and initiatives. It will focus on what Malta has done to reduce social exclusion in recent years as well as the challenges and current issues it is facing to help the EU reach its target of 12 million people out of social exclusion by 2020. The methodology deployed in this study was primarily qualitative with a documentary analysis of Directive 2000/43EC and Directive 2000/78EC; the Maltese law which includes the Employment and Industrial Relations Act, the Equal Treatment of Persons Order and the Equal Treatment of Persons Regulations and of documents attesting to how the directives have become part of the national law; as well as documents that the National Commission for Promotion of Equality (NCPE) have published regarding the situation of social exclusion in relation to discrimination, inequality and unstable employment in Malta. Methodological limitations included the definition of the social exclusion as a vast term and the issue of statistics and conceptualisation and omission of quantitative data were adopted as mitigating measures. The main findings of the study include the effectiveness of the analysed legislation vis-a-vis social exclusion. Thus, through these findings it is depicted that Malta has a very good legal protection when discussing the excluded. Both the NCPE as a government entity and the trade unions have a key role when it comes to the enforcement of this adopted legislation. All these organisations come up with a number of studies and initiatives to increase awareness of the afore-mentioned legislation and thus tackle the current issues being faced such as enforcement, change in mentality and underreporting. The implications of these findings include that the implementation of Directives 2000/43 EC and 2000/78 EC have improved the legislation in the area of social exclusion. In Malta, these directives have become part of the legislation that is enforced through the NCPE, a government entity, and trade unions. Thus, suggestions for further research include expanding the research on other anti-discrimination directives implemented by the EU and their effectiveness in creating a more inclusive society.