The GRTU claim that Health Minister Louis Deguara had agreed that fundamentally, smaller bars could just install an air purifying system and allow people to smoke.
The chamber also claimed that Dr Deguara accepted that establishments smaller than 60 square metres were not obliged to make a physical divider and could be allowed to designate the whole building as ‘smoking’. For establishments larger than 60 square metres, Dr Deguara was alleged to have agreed to have non-physical boundaries for smoking and no-smoking areas, provided that the establishment contained air-purifying equipment.
Dr Borg Cardona said that the GRTU would be focusing its legal thrust on the fact that Dr Deguara backed out of the agreement the next day. He said that in addition, the GRTU members would hold the Health Ministry responsible for any financial damages to be incurred.
He said that the GRTU would be filing a judicial letter today as required by law before a case is instituted in the Civil Court. If the Health Ministry does not stick to the terms of the agreement within 10 days, the GRTU will seek remedy from the court by filing a writ.
Asked by The Malta Independent, Dr Borg Cardona said that if the GRTU did not get remedy from the Civil Court, it will proceed to the Constitutional Court and even to the European Court if the need arises. Asked whether there was a possibility of applying for a prohibitory injunction against the implementation of the law, Dr Borg Cardona said that no court would issue such an injunction against a Ministry when it came to policy.
“The GRTU is contesting the fact that the Health Minister had agreed terms and then backed out the next day,” concluded Dr Borg Cardona.
The GRTU’s director general Vince Farrugia said Dr Deguara was simply trying to enforce a blanket ban on smoking by sneaking it through the back door. “We know that there is a greater desire for non-smoking in restaurants and we accepted that. But in reality, how can a small corner bar separate non-smoking and smoking areas ?” asked Mr Farrugia.
He said that a lot of politicians in government were drawing comparisons to the smoking bans in the US, Ireland and Norway. “Fine, they were a success, but the whole procedure took years and years of dialogue,” he said.
Mr Farrugia also said that smoking was just the tip of the iceberg. “Smoking has been made out to be some major source of pollution, whereas government seems to be forgetting Maghtab, the incinerator and the pollution coming from Sicily,” he said.
He also condemned the way the Malta Standards Authority was being used as a rubber stamp for the Health Ministry’s decisions. “The standards that were called for on purifying equipment are so high that that the merchandise on the market at present does not match up,” he said.
Mr Farrugia explained that some night-spot owners had spent hundreds of thousands of liri on purifying equipment that has basically become a waste of money. “It is just downright unfair that the Minister agreed on one thing one day and does a U-turn the next. Small business owners want to work, but government must let them; they cannot continue to bear the brunt of everything,” he said.
Mr Farrugia said the Health Ministry simply did not know the meaning of discussion and dialogue. He said: “We are not saying that we want everyone to smoke, we just want everyone to show a bit of common sense.” He said that in Europe, economic assessments are carried out before any new laws or regulations are implemented. “Even on the level of GRTU, the EU always gives us what is called a non-paper, basically ideas being floated, before anyone even begins to discuss anything. The government cannot continue to operate with this mentality,” he said.
He said that the GRTU was resorting to legal means before anything. “But the implementation of the regulations will not be seen for six months (in the case of bars) and one year (for restaurants). If we get no joy from the courts, we will mobilise, take action, and government will then have to deal with the consequences,” he said. Meanwhile, GRTU President Charles Busuttil had harsher words for the government as a whole. Putting it all in a nutshell, Mr Busuttil said: “People are sick and fed up, the results of the last election are self explanatory. Government simply cannot carry on the way it is,” he said.
He urged government to let small business owners work and to let them allow others to work. He accused the government of digging out tax returns of 20 years ago. “Government is not going to solve the country’s financial problems by dumping the problem on small and medium enterprises,” he said.
He said that Malta was now in the European Union. “We are pleased, and we are involved in the economic and social dialogue which takes place in the EU. The EU does things seriously and properly. Everything is discussed with everyone. Not like here where people just impose new laws without the slightest bit of consultation,” he said.
He asked why Malta had joined the EU if things were going to continue the way they always had in the past. “The government thinks it has command over everything, so it decides about everything,” he said.
He said that if government did not change its ways, the GRTU would take industrial action. “Everyone is sick of the way things are going and things have to change. These are not threats, we want to work. So let us work,” he concluded.