The chamber said its input on various committees particularly on the IT Task Force was not reflected in the documentation being published.

The GRTU said it had carried out a survey before the committees met but the NECC refused its report, stating that it had to pass through the various structures within the NECC. The result, the GRTU said, was that it took weeks until the GRTU could once again present its issues and concerns.

The GRTU said that in its capacity as chair of the Pricing Task Force it presented a report in a predefined template by NECC, which report was sent back because the person in charge required specific dates on certain issues.

“This was not possible in view of the way NECC operated,” the chamber said.

The GRTU reiterated, as the parliamentary secretary confirmed, it was never consulted on the Euro Adoption Act.

“This was placed on the table prior to the private sector being represented on the NECC advisory committee. The bill ignores all the issues that were discussed within the various committees.

“Furthermore, the NECC Executive Committee members were telling the sub-committees to address all issues within the central committee.

“On the other hand the chairman, quite rightly, said the central committee is there for strategic issues only.

“This resulted in a lack of communication and various issues were filtered or not reported. In this light, the GRTU asks on what basis does NECC claim that all its suggestions have been taken into account when there are suggestions that were never read by the NECC?”

The chamber said that the NECC executive committee was aware that the current structure was not working. Reuben Buttigieg, the GRTU representative, has highlighted this on various occasions to the extent that a whole NECC session was organised in order to address the issue.

“Unfortunately, once again, the NECC preferred to try and sell its position rather than understand and address the issue. In fact two weeks have passed and the NECC has failed to address the matter once again.”

The GRTU said it was clear from the statements made in the media that the NECC was not recognising the issues at stake.

“In this light, the GRTU has no other option but to address the issues itself in ways it deems necessary to protect the interest of its members and to ensure the environment in which business operates is not threatened or harassed any further.”

The GRTU said that Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech promised to address the matter at the earliest.