The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) yesterday was put under the spotlight by the social partners who called on the government to say what it wanted from the consultative body.

Addressing a business breakfast organised by the Malta Labour Party yesterday morning, industrial relations consultant Alfred Mallia Milanes said the council had become nothing more than a social club and the real debate still had to begin.

Mr Mallia Milanes said the social partners had to put the nation’s interest first before anything else.

The director general of the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises, Vince Farrugia said he disagreed that the MCESD was not working but insisted that the government had to decide what it wanted council to do. This sentiment was also expressed by Tony Zarb, secretary general of the General Workers’ Union.

“What does the government want? As it is, the council is an excellent consultation tool; but like every tool it can either be used or left hanging on the wall. We have to decided what we want: whether it should remain a consultation forum or whether it should have a more important role,” Mr Farrugia asked.

He said the social partners were committed to the council and it has functioned well in the past. However, one reason why it is not working now is that it lacks leadership, “leadership that is tolerated”, he added.

Asked whether the Labour Party agreed that the council should take on a more executive role and whether voting should be introduced if consensus is not reached, Labour leader Dr Alfred Sant said the MCESD had to be more than just a consultation forum before the budget.

“It should establish a strategy and between them the social partners should decide on what needs to be done on a variety of issues. They should create guidelines that can be used by the government to take action on its policies,” Dr Sant said.

He said the Labour Party wanted to widen representation on the council to include the elderly and to give a voice to Gozo.

“The council should be an instrument to launch a long-term strategy that is effective,” he added.

In his presentation, Mr Mallia Milanes spoke about the importance of education and the need for restructuring that begins from the top. He criticised the Employment and Training Corporation and said it had started to look like another government department.

Neither, he said, had the government published the draft legislation on reform of the public sector.

On pension reform, he said the Labour Party’s proposals were more of a reaction to the government’s plans instead of being concrete plans in their own right. He also said the party should have been more specific in some areas, such as divorce and bioethics.

Businesswoman Marlene Mizzi spoke about accountability in government and that some mechanism had to exist whereby politicians, who are technically the country’s chief executive officers, should be held accountable if they do not properly manage the country’s assets. She said the “superglue syndrome” was rampant in Malta, with ministers staying in a position no matter what happened.

In his address, Dr Sant said his party was seeking a balance between social needs and economic realities. He said the country had to learn from past experience and to address those areas to ensure they did not continue to fall behind.

Dr Sant said the party wanted to build on those sectors that are doing well such as the financial services sector and construction, although the latter, in his opinion, was at risk of overheating.

He said a plan was needed for the tourism industry, especially for Gozo, and this sector was one of Labour’s priority areas, along with health, manufacturing, education and the environment. With regard to reform of the civil service, Dr Sant said the whole government structure had to be streamlined, Mepa in particular.

Speaking about Labour’s plans for the health sector, he said that the new hospital will be a major challenge and he was concerned that the migration plan from St Luke’s to Mater Dei is still not in place or, at best, half-baked, with the result that precious resources will be lost. On pension reform, Dr Sant said the party did not believe that reform is actually taking place.

“There is a need to address the problem but this had to be done with all the stakeholders on board and with a plan that maps out the state of pensions in Malta over the long term. We need a roadmap that leads to a solution that answers all the questions,” Dr Sant said.