WAGE INCREASE NATIONAL STANDARD g S.L.452.65 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 452.65
WAGE INCREASE NATIONAL STANDARD ORDER
LEGAL NOTICES 169 of 1989, 210 of 1990 (as amended by Legal
Notice 192 of 1991), 192 of 1991 (as amended by Legal Notice 127 of
1992), 127 of 1992, 179 of 1993, 185 of 1994 (as amended by Legal Notice
117 of 1995), 188 of 1995 (as amended by Legal Notice 15 of 1996);
Government Notice 62 of 1997; and Legal Notices 6 and 223 of 1997, 271
of 1998, 219 of 1999, 266 of 2000, 308 of 2001, 377 of 2002 and 419 of
2003, consolidated.
Title.
Order.
Interpretation.
Cap. 452.
"Agreement" means the National Agreement on Industrial
Relations signed on the 10th December, 1990 between the
Government, Trade Unions and Organisations of Employers,
represented on the Malta Council for Economic Development,
which agreement was entered into in the Maltese language and the
English text is a translation thereof;
"ordinary increment" means an annual or periodic addition to
wages to which an employee is entitled by way of an advance from
one point to another of a pre-determined wage scale;
"whole-time employee" shall have the same meaning as is
assigned to it in any recognised conditions of employment in
accordance with article 10 of the Act.
Cost of living 
adjustments.
3. The amount of increase in wages for cost of living
determined in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 1.2 and
1.3 of the Agreement,   titles 1 to 6 of which are being reproduced as
Schedule A to this Order, is established under Schedule B to this
Order as provided under titles 1, 2 and 3 of the Agreement and it
shall be implemented as stipulated in the said Agreement. 
Employees not 
covered by 
collective 
agreement.
4. The amount of increases as detailed in Schedule B to this
Order shall apply, as stipulated in title 3 of the Agreement, to
whole-time employees who are not covered by a collective
agreement. 
National minimum 
wage.
5. With effect from 1st January, 1992, the national minimum
per week related to a normal working week shall be as follows -
Age 18 and over ...................Lm35.63c per week 
Age 17 years ......................... Lm32.72c per week 
Under 17 years .......................Lm31.49c per week.
Part time 
employees.
6. Part-time employees shall be paid  pro rata  at an hourly
rate not below the national minimum wage, determined in
accordance with article 5 of this Order, divided by forty.
2 g S.L.452.65 WAGE INCREASE NATIONAL STANDARD
Cost of living 
increase to be paid 
once.
7. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding articles,
no employer shall be required to pay the cost of living increase or
any part thereof contemplated by this Order more than once during
the calendar year to which the increase refers.
Interpretation.  8. For the purposes of this Order, a "whole-time employee" is
an employee as defined in article 29(2) of the Act, and a "part-time
employee" is an employee who is not a whole-time employee.
SCHEDULES
SCHEDULE A
(Article 3)
AGREEMENT
(Translation)
A. National Wage Regulation Policy 
1.  Cost-of-living increases
1.0 Cost-of-living increases will be calculated by the
Government Statistician according to the Retail Price Index
statistics calculated under the direction of an independent tripartite
committee set up to ensure the equitable workings of this statistic.
1.1 Every six months throughout the duration of this
Agreement, the Malta Council for Economic Development will
inform all the parties of the forecast movements of the Retail Price
Index for the forthcoming three years. Such forecasts will serve as
an indication during negotiations for new collective agreements
and will not be published.
1.2 For the purposes of the present Agreement, the percentage
increase in the cost-of-living that has to be taken into account in
calculating the cost-of-living adjustment (C.O.L.A.) for each year,
will be determined by the change in the price index (annual
average) during the twelve months ending on 30th June of the
preceding year.
1.3 The amount of cost-of-living wage increase (C.O.L.A.)
shall be established as follows:
1.3.1 The percentage figure established in paragraph 1.2
will be applied on a (weekly) wage base rate of
Lm40 (forty Maltese liri), which amount shall be
increased on 1st January of each year by the
amount of C.O.L.A. established.
1.3.2 The result will be rounded up or down to the
nearest fifty cents.
1.3.3  This figure will be reduced by the amount of social
benefits which the State may grant during the year
commencing on the effective date of the cost-of
living increase. Appendix 1 gives details of the
WAGE INCREASE NATIONAL STANDARD g S.L.452.65 3
social wage.
1.4 The cost-of-living increase will be effective on increases
falling due after the 1st of January following the date on which it
was established.
1.5 All the parties to this Agreement reaffirm their
commitment to control the cost-of-living in the interest of the
competitiveness of our enterprises.
2. Collective Agreements
2.0 Every collective agreement shall be binding for a period of
not less than three years.
2.1 Except as otherwise provided under this article, the wages
as agreed in a collective agreement shall be those in effect
throughout the entire duration of the agreement.
2.2 Collective agreements must indicate the cost-of-living
forecast figures communicated in accordance with paragraph 1.1
and taken as a basis in negotiating wage increases.
2.3 When during any one year the increase stipulated by a
collective agreement is less than the C.O.L.A., a supplementary
increase shall hence be granted so as to ensure that the effective
increase is equivalent to the C.O.L.A.
2.4 At the beginning of the last six months of a collective
agreement, there shall be established:
2.4.1 The total amount of increases actually paid during
the period of the agreement.
2.4.2 The increase which would have been paid had the
excess (if any) of the increase provided in the
collective agreement over and above the forecast
C.O.L.A. been added to the actual C.O.L.A.
throughout the term of the collective agreement.
2.5  The difference between these two amounts, whether in
favour of the employee or the employer, shall be compensated as
agreed between the two parties, in the next Collective Agreement.
2.6 It is understood that the provisions in paragraphs 2.4 and
2.5, although applicable to every collective agreement reached
during the term of the present Agreement, are considered as
transitional in the development process leading to freer
negotiations.
3.  Employees not covered by a Collective Agreement
3.0 In cases where employees are not covered by a collective
agreement, the government is to take such measures as may be
required so as to ensure that each C.O.L.A. is added to their wages
with effect from the 1st January of each year.
4.  Financial Arbitration Tribunal
4.0 In the event that a firm, at any stage of the collective
agreement, declares that for a reason or reasons which it considers
valid, it will not be in a position to pay the agreed increases or any
part thereof, it should seek a revision of its collective agreement
4 g S.L.452.65 WAGE INCREASE NATIONAL STANDARD
with workers’ representatives. In the event that no agreed revision
is reached, either of the parties or both together shall have the right
to submit the case before an independent tribunal established
beforehand for this purpose.
4.1 The tribunal shall be composed of a Chairperson and two
members.
4.1.1 For this purpose, in agreement between the three
social partners, two lists shall be compiled: one
consisting of not less than five persons suitable to
serve as chairpersons and another list of not less
than ten persons to serve as members of the
tribunal.
4.1.2 Prior to each case, the names of the Chairperson
and of the two members shall be drawn by lot in the
presence of the parties concerned. For this purpose,
the date, time and place shall be notified to the
parties by the responsible authority.
4.2 Every member of the tribunal shall, on assuming his office,
make a sworn declaration before the Attorney General of the
Republic, in the form prescribed for this purpose, in which he
declares that he has no personal interest whatsoever, whether
directly or indirectly, in the case before him and which may
conflict with his function as a member of the tribunal.
4.3 The tribunal must investigate the case and within a period
of not more than three months from the day when the case was
referred to it, shall decide what increase or increases of those
agreed upon can be paid by the firm.
4.4 The tribunal shall be empowered to summon before it any
other person to testify by affidavit and/or give evidence and/or
produce books and/or all other relevant documents.
4.5 The tribunal shall be empowered to administer the oath to
any person appearing before it when and if it considers it necessary.
4.6 Every member of the tribunal shall receive a just
remuneration for every case heard by him.
4.7 Every decision of the tribunal shall be final and binding
upon the parties. It is understood that the circumstances examined
by the tribunal shall be deemed to remain in force for one year.
Consequently a decision of the tribunal will only be binding for one
year or until such time as another wage increase in the Collective
Agreement and as a result of this Agreement.
5. Extraordinary Circumstances
5.0 It is agreed that where and when extraordinary
circumstances occur as a result of which the national economy, in
the unanimous opinion of the Malta Council for Economic
Development, is not able to sustain any one or all of the agreed
increases, the Council may then authorise changes in the agreement
concerned under such terms and for such period as the same
Council may determine. Examples of such extraordinary
circumstances are furnished in Appendix II.
WAGE INCREASE NATIONAL STANDARD g S.L.452.65 5
5.1 For the purposes of paragraph 5.0, the Malta Council for
Economic Development shall, not later than three months from the
end of every trimester, provide to all the parties brought together
under its aegis, a report with relevant figures.
6. Duration of this Agreement
6.0 This Agreement is binding for three years from the date of
signature.
6.1 Every award by the Financial Arbitration Tribunal shall
remain applicable throughout the entire year as stipulated by sub-
paragraph 4.7 of this Agreement - even if during such period this
agreement expires.
SCHEDULE B
(Articles 3 and 4)
Cost of living increases for whole-time employees
Column 1 Column 2 
Effective date increase in wage 
1st January, 1990 Lm3.00 per week
1st January, 1991 Lm1.25 per week
1st January 1992 Lm1.50 per week
1st January 1993 Lm1.00 per week
1st January 1994 Lm1.50 per week
1st January 1995 Lm2.25 per week
1st January 1996 Lm2.00 per week
1st January, 1997 Lm1.50 per week
1st April, 1997 Lm1.75 per week
1st January, 1998 Lm1.50 per week
1st January, 1999 Lm1.75 per week
1st January, 2000 Lm1.00 per week
1st January, 2001 Lm1.50 per week
1st January, 2002 Lm1.50 per week
1st January, 2003 Lm1.75 per week
1st January, 2004 Lm0.75 per week:
Provided that where the conditions of employment of
whole-time employees are covered by an agreement, which
provides for the cost of living adjustments, the increase for cost of
living shall be paid in accordance with such agreement, but in no
case shall the increase be less than the amount specified in the
Column 2 above. 
With effect from the year 1995, an amount of Lm13,
6 g S.L.452.65 WAGE INCREASE NATIONAL STANDARD
equivalent to 50c per week for six months, shall be paid by
employers in one lump sum at the end of March to all whole-time
employees who are on their books as on that date. This sum shall
be recoverable out of funds due to Government by way of income
tax and social security contributions.
Furthermore, an amount of Lm26, equivalent to Lm1 per
week for six months, shall also be paid by employees in one lump
sum at the end of September, to all whole-time employees who
are on their books as on that date. This sum shall be recoverable
out of funds due to Government by way of income tax and social
security contributions. 
Cost of living increases for part-time employees
The wages of part-time employees shall be increased  pro rata  by
an hourly rate equivalent to one-fortieth of that granted by
Government to its whole-time employees as stipulated in Column
2 above respectively. 
