Social Policy Minister John Dalli yesterday said he was in favour of creating a social pact, agreed upon by everyone, that will create a much-needed safety net for both employers and workers especially in the light of international events.

Mr Dalli yesterday participated in a discussion group organised by the General Workers Union as part of their activities to commemorate Workers Day. The minister, who was on the panel along with University lecturer Peter Mayo, said that Workers Day was originally set up to commemorate workers who had to fight to be considered as human beings and not simply part of the production line.

The minister said that today workers are facing difficulties caused the system of globalisation.

“Awareness about these changes is very important – we cannot afford to sit back and be complacent,” he said.

Mr Dalli spoke about the importance of finding new ways of cooperation between the employer and the worker. “The time for confrontation is over – cooperation is what we should aim for.”

Both the employer and worker have to realise that they need one another to exist and to have a decent quality of life.

Mr Dalli spoke about the recent international developments and how the ever-rising cost of cereals and oil is affecting production lines all over the world, which in turn leads to added costs and a higher cost of living.

A careful study has to be made of this situation in order to draw up a clear plan on how to tackle it, he added.

“A formative and educational process for the public should be set up so that they understand what is going on internationally and how these mechanisms affect their daily lives,” said Mr Dalli.

University professor Peter Mayo explained that the traditional image of the blue or white collar worker supporting the family no longer holds as times have changed.

He spoke about how immigration and the labour market have changed. “The concept of the labour market is not the same as it was years ago – it has become mobile.

Referring to immigration and more specifically irregular immigration, Prof. Mayo said that criticism should be directed at employers who exploit irregular migrants instead of complaining that these take up the jobs of the Maltese.

Referring to the minister’s remarks on cooperation, former dockyard workers’ council chairman Sammy Meilaq pointed out that more often than not, the road to cooperation often included conflict.

“Conflict is not necessarily negative as long as it isn’t used as the ends to the mean,” he said.

Mr Dalli agreed and expressed his concern over the recent trend in certain sectors which immediately threaten a general strike in order to get what they want. “When this happens, the threat of a strike, or the strike itself can cause a relatively small situation to escalate out of proportion.”

“Trade unionism is not about striking but about reaching an agreement for both the employer and the worker in the long-term,” he said.

Employers need to modernise their concept to today’s reality and the Malta Council for Social and Economic Development (MCSED) is the best place where this can take place, said Mr Dalli.

MCSED chairman Sonny Portelli pointed out that Malta’s size is an added advantage to reaching consensus.

“This consensus can be reached in the MCSED but only when employers and workers realise that they are co-dependent on each other,” he said.

In his concluding remarks, GWU secretary-general Tony Zarb spoke about the various challenges the Maltese worker is facing including the pressing issue of the increased cost of living.

He pointed out that there are still several employers who exploit workers through illegal contracts or people who work part-time and called on the government to tackle this.

Mr Zarb also said that the present system whereby public service employees cannot file a case before the industrial tribunal has to change.

Furthermore, he added, the industrial tribunal has to become independent and impartial.