Juan Ameen spoke to Joe Gerada who was recently elected chairman of the Social Cohesion Committee of the Council of Europe
Joe Gerada is a man who juggles different roles. He is currently the chief executive officer of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services that manages APPOGG, Sedqa and SAPPORT. He has served the foundation in a number of roles and on sub-committees dealing with policy issues, most notably the policies on Children and Families and Access to Social Rights.
He has also been closely involved with other committees of the Council of Europe, namely the Pompidou Group that deals with addiction issues and the Children’s Forum that deals with children and family. He also sat on the editorial board of the Council of Europe publication Access To Social Rights.
The Social Cohesion Committee was set up in 1997 during the Heads of State Summit in Strasbourg with the specific objective of developing a strategy for social cohesion and making recommendations to the Council of Ministers regarding social welfare policies.
The committee is composed of a representative appointed by the ministry of each Council of Europe member state that is responsible for the social policy portfolio. and is supported by a permanent secretariat financed by the Council.
Mr Gerada explained that policy recommendations developed by the Council of Europe are not binding on the member states and therefore every state is free to implement the recommendations made either in full or in part. “Each ministry in the respective country establishes its own objectives and priorities with specific targets to reach within given time frames, but is up to each member state to adapt and take into account the particular circumstances of the respective country and adjust accordingly,” he said.
“I think we can proudly say that in Malta we have always given due attention to the Council of Europe’s recommendations and adhered to them consistently,” he said.
He mentioned the schemes and programmes organised by the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) for the unemployed, targeting specific groups and providing assistance, reconciling work and family life, flexible hours intended to involve fathers more in the life of the family and day child-care centres. “In fact, the Social Cohesion Committee developed official guidelines for the development of day-care centres and this document is also being used in Malta,” he added.
The committee is working on a number of policy issues at the moment. The sub-committee on housing policies is focusing on improving access to accommodation for vulnerable groups and in particular increasing the supply of decent and affordable homes.
“Policies should empower people and not make them dependent on the state, otherwise people will try to find a way of cheating the system,” he said.
User involvement in social services and integrated social services delivery is another priority area. “This is an extremely important development and one that will give a greater say to the users of services through increased accountability, improved quality of service and less duplication.”
“It is not easy to implement, as we have to continually place the client at the centre of all social welfare services, change working practices, introduce greater flexibility and upgrade competencies.”
The committee is also discussing a “platform for dialogue on socially responsible consumption and finance systems”. Mr Gerada explained that this concept of ethical financing would “for example mean that banks would not give loans to companies without weighing the social implications of how the money will be used. Consumers have a lot of power, and banks do not want to lose customers because of being labelled as unethical or having an anti-social policy.”
However, he admitted that customers need to become more educated and aware of what is happening.
This year’s Council of Europe’s Social Cohesion Committee’s forum is dedicated entirely to the issue of reconciling labour flexibility with security and social cohesion, he explained. This is an issue faced by most member states when addressing the need to care for the family and encourage young couples to have children while at the same time being conscious of the pressures of competition in the world of business.
Managing flexibility in the workplace without endangering the security that workers have enjoyed so far is another issue discussed by the committee. However, Mr Gerada pointed out that these two concepts are not mutually exclusive but a proper policy is needed to develop to make them compatible. In fact, a new concept seems to be emerging – “flexicurity”.
He explained that flexicurity is agreeing upon flexible forms of employment whilst ensuring job security. “Schemes can be developed like job sharing and secured part-time work. It can work out in favour of both the employer and employee. While the employer looks at flexibility in terms of good functioning of the labour market and increasing the company’s competitive edge, the employee looks at empowerment which gives opportunities to foster the acquisition of competencies and increases control over one’s personal life.”
The concept of flexicurity brings with it the need for child-care facilities. “Child-care centres are not places for dumping children, but serve to enhance the physical, intellectual and social development of children. They also have to play a protective role, especially for children with disabilities or who come from disadvantaged families,” Mr Gerada said. It is important that children from different social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds are integrated, and local councils can be of great help in this initiative. The Smartkids childcare centre at ACCESS in Cottonera is a good example.
“I think the employment issue is the number one priority together with access to vocational training for young people and increased employability. Employability is intrinsically dependent on literacy skills and therefore we should work towards a zero tolerance of illiteracy,” Mr Gerada said.
Another important issue which needs to be dealt with at present is the sustainability of pension schemes, he added. “All other developed countries are tackling this or have already dealt with it.” He suggested a scheme where providing pensions is not the sole responsibility of government – but where government could help “those who are unable to provide for themselves.”
There is also the need to further develop the community-based social welfare service, targeting families at risk of social exclusion particularly those suffering from illness, disability or who belong to a minority group, he said.
Mr Gerada pointed out that another important issue is the need to increase facilities for independent living for people with disabilities along with housing schemes for vulnerable, groups, particularly single mothers, victims of domestic violence, young people at risk and ethnic minorities.
However, he pointed out that Malta is extremely lucky to have a society based on a genuine interest in helping and supporting those in need. “The number of government departments and NGOs that give valid and effective service and respect is evidence of our caring society. It is ‘social capital’ of the best kind – in my opinion, the key to the future.”