ForUM (Forum Unions Maltin) seems to be playing musical chairs with other unions to get a seat on the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD), however, the government said ForUM refused its invitation to be immediately represented on the Malta EU Action and Steering Committee (MEUSAC).
Last Friday, an application by ForUM to sit on the MCESD was turned down by the council during it’s meeting.
In a statement, ForUM spokesman Paul Pace accused the government of only paying lip service to social dialogue and a social pact while it turned its back on a confederation of 11 unions representing a wide range of workers. He said he cannot understand the reticence as the MCESD’s set-up has already been changed without a vote or consensus.
In reaction, the Parliamentary Secretariat for Consumers, Fair Competition and Public Consultation said the government could not control the nature of MCESD’s structure.
In a separate statement issued yesterday the government reiterated its position by saying that ForUM is welcome on the council as long as the other parties concede while repeating its invitation for ForUM to join in the MEUSAC.
Presently, MCESD is made up of five members representing the government, five members representing employers and four representing employees. The representation of the employers is made up of two members from the Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, one from the Malta Employers’ Association, one from the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU and another from the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA). Two seats on the employees’ side are occupied by the General Workers’ Union. The Unjoni Haddiema Maghqudin (UHM) and a member of the Confederation of Maltese Trade Unions (CMTU) fill the other two.
The Malta Independent contacted UHM secretary general Gejtu Vella for a comment on the current situation. “Isn’t it logical that since the General Workers’ Union is insisting that ForUM should join the MCESD, that they should give up one of their two chairs for ForUM?”questioned Mr Vella.
On the other hand, ForUM president John Bencini described the UHM’s idea as absolutely ridiculous. “This idea was already brought up by GRTU in the past. Opposing Mr Vella’s assertions, Mr Bencini said UHM should give up its seat since it is represented in CMTU. “Is it fair that one of the confederations from three representing almost 11,000 employees is not present on the MCESD,” questioned Mr Bencini.
If another representation had to be included in the MCESD, Mr Vella suggests that a member representing civil society should be included to represent the thousands of people who do not form part of any union.
There is no hard and fast rules in tripartite discussions but one must always question which is the best option, he said. Apart from ForUM’s pending MCESD application, there were also proposals to include a representation from the Gozo Business Chamber, the Church and the Opposition, he added.
The GWU is in full agreement that the ForUM should become a member and form part of MCESD. “Besides the fact that at present, there is an imbalance in the composition of MCESD, as the representation of employers exceeds that of trade unions, with its inclusion as a member of MCESD, the ForUM will surely express the voices of various strata of workers and families. Therefore this is not a question of a union surrendering its place to make way for the ForUM but it is rather a matter of balanced discussions between the social partners themselves,” a union spokesperson told this newspaper.