discussions since these will prove fruitful for the country and its citizens, Union Haddiema Maghqudin secretary-general Gejtu Vella said yesterday.

He added, when asked, that any of the social partners who sit around the MCESD table of negotiations who divulged confidential information about what was being discussed or anyone who decided that they had had enough and left the meeting, have “sabotaged” the social pact agreement.

Mr Vella was speaking during a press conference at UHM headquarters on the union’s position with regard to the lack of agreement on the draft social pact drawn up by MCESD chairman Victor Scicluna. “It is unfortunate that in such a small country, government, unions and the employers could not find a common denominator of how to solve the country’s problems,” Mr Vella said in his opening remarks.

On several occasions during the conference, Mr Vella said that the union did not agree with all the measures proposed by Mr Scicluna but the difference between the UHM and other social partners was that “the UHM, as it has said from the outset, is prepared to continue discussions in order to reach an agreement”.

When replying to comments from the journalists present, as the press conference quickly turned into a round-table discussion, Mr Vella said that the measures proposed would have increased the burden on workers. However, he said, workers need not worry because they will be losing nothing as the country will be gaining a great deal if an agreement on the social pact is reached. The country will benefit from increased and improved employment opportunities, more competitiveness and more prosperity, from which everyone stands to gain, he said.

Earlier on, union president Gejtu Tanti had outlined the union’s position with regard to the measures proposed by Mr Scicluna since “there are people (clearly referring to the General Workers Union, even though never mentioned by its name) who gave the impression that they are the only defenders of workers’ interests”.

He explained that the UHM never considered agreeing any measures on overtime or on the reduction of vacation leave days as was proposed by the MCESD chairman. Moreover, he said, the UHM also never even considered agreeing that expenditure on the wages bill for government workers had to be capped at less than one per cent. He added that the union had also never agreed that the MCESD discusses the working hours of the public sector.

Mr Tanti said that, from the outset, the union had proposed that the cost of living increase be included in the worker’s wage, that cash payments given to workers are not taxed and are National Insurance-free and that these do not affect pensioners. In addition, he said, the union was always against any form of wage freeze or wage reduction.

He said the UHM was among the first to lobby for a social pact and the proposed social pact drawn up by Mr Scicluna comprised several measures which the UHM has long been insisting upon. These include the introduction of measures to curb tax evasion, that employers contribute 40c a week for every worker they employ for training and that people on the unemployment list are trained while they are looking for work. Other matters with which the union agreed, he said, included measures to curb bureaucracy and red tape and that the MCESD serves as a watchdog on government expenditure.

Mr Vella said a social pact was important because government and social partners can be easily changed but the country’s problems remain there to be solved. The UHM wants to continue the discussion for an agreement on a national social pact to be reached once and for all. He said that if other countries, bigger than Malta, managed to reach agreement on a social pact, then so can Malta, if everyone gets his act together.

He was asked a very specific question: which of the measures included in the draft social pact document is the UHM prepared to accept? His reply was short and sweet: “The UHM is prepared to accept measures which are good and in the national interest and other corrective measures aimed to solve the country’s problems.”

Without mentioning the names of any individuals or organisations, Mr Vella said, on a number of occasions, that anyone who divulged information about what was being discussed was a “pulcinell” (clown).