Constituted bodies have submitted their counter-proposals on suggestions put forward last month by the government on the expansion of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, but a solution appears to be a long way off, sources have told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

This is largely because of the contrasting views held by the organisations that are currently MCESD members on whether the council should be expanded to include the Forum Unions Maltin and the Gozo Business Chamber, as the government proposed last month.

In a letter sent to constituted bodies in early August, the parliamentary secretary responsible for MCESD, Chris Said, proposed that Forum and the GBA become new members, either through the expansion of the council from nine to 11 seats, or else through the General Workers Union and the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry each relinquishing a seat.

These two organisations each have two seats on the MCESD, while the Malta Employers Association, the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin each have one.

In his letter, Dr Said pledged that no changes will be made unless there is consensus among the existing members, and it seems that this

consensus was one of the main themes that was insisted upon by the constituted bodies that replied to the government’s proposals.

In actual fact, only six of the seven current MCESD members submitted their proposals by the 7 September deadline, accordiung to a spokesman for the parliamentary secretariat. “Another member of MCESD asked for an extension of one week. The reason given was the need for more internal discussion. This extension was granted,” the spokesman said.

The name of the constituted body which did not submit its proposals was not revealed, but last week this newspaper quoted MEA director-general Joseph Farrugia expressing doubts as to whether or not the association would have met the deadline.

The secretariat spokesman said: “The six reports that were presented are currently being evaluated. At first glance they contain a number of interesting proposals. The constituted bodies that presented their reports are of the opinion that consensus is essential for any changes to take place.”

Yet this consensus is far from being a formality, and this is why there are doubts over whether all the constituted bodies will arrive at a compromise in the short term, sources said.

For one thing, the UHM’s position has so far been adamantly against the inclusion of Forum. A few weeks ago, UHM secretary-general Gejtu Vella told this newspaper that the government seems to want to give a voice to those who are making the most noise, with obvious reference to Forum, which has been clamouring for a seat on the MCESD for many months. At the same time, Mr Vella said, the government was ignoring claims made by other organisations.

One point raised by Mr Vella was that a few years ago, a social pact was not reached just because the GWU was against it. And so if only one of the current MCESD members does not agree with the council’s expansion, this should not take place.

On the other hand, the GWU has always been in favour of the inclusion of Forum, with whom it formed an alliance earlier this year to hold protest marches against the utility rates.

In comments to this newspaper, the GWU said that it “fully agrees with the inclusion” of both Forum and the GBA. As already stated on several occasions, the GWU favours the inclusion of Forum in the MCESD as it represents around 12,000 workers in important and crucial sectors in Malta and therefore deserves a voice in the national official social dialogue process.

“However, the GWU reiterates that, notwithstanding the proposal for their inclusion, there will still remain a discrepancy between the workers’ and employers’ representation.”

In effect, the current set-up is four employers’ organisations and three unions and an addition at either end would keep the same proportion.

In response to Dr Said’s letter, the GWU reminded the parliamentary secretary: “that on 6 March it submitted to the government a set of proposals for a radical overhaul of how MCESD should function. The GWU has since insisted for the initiation of discussions regarding these proposals that were sent also to the chairman of MCESD”.

The GWU said it is prepared to meet and discuss its proposals with each and every organisation represented within the MCESD.

The government will itself be meeting MCESD members on an individual basis once the evaluation of their proposals is completed, and before the matter is brought before the whole council.

“The reports are confidential and will not be divulged by this office without the prior consent of the constituted bodies and prior to discussion at MCESD level,” the secretariat said.

“Once the evaluation of the reports is finalised, the government will start a series of one-to-one meetings with all constituted bodies. The meetings will focus on the common issues and on the common proposals raised in the reports. The meetings will also serve for government to try and achieve consensus on the way forward.”

Such a consensus seems far away at this stage.

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