The General Workers’ Union believes that the Malta Council for Social and Economic Development needs to be overhauled so as to allow for better dialogue, with the added input of civil society groups. Michael Carabott speaks to GWU secretary general Tony Zarb to sound out the union’s proposals.
The first topic of discussion with General Workers Union secretary general Tony Zarb was the GWU’s proposals to shake up the MCESD to include more members of society in discussions and for the government to be removed from the table.
“This does not mean that the government would not be involved at all. It would simply mean that the parties concerned would discuss the matters at hand and then present a final report to the government once the issues are thrashed out,” Mr Zarb explained.
He said the MCESD should be composed of employers, trade unions and civil society. The ideal representatives, he said, should come from the Federation of Industry, the Malta Employers Association, the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Gozo Chamber of Commerce and one representative to be elected on behalf of employers’ organisations not mentioned above.
The unions, he said, should be represented by three members of the GWU and three members of the Confederation of Maltese Trade Unions and the UHM, as well as a representative from FORUM. FORUM is a group of organisations representing various trade unions which do not have a seat on the MCESD and want to be involved.
Society should have representatives from youth organisations, women’s organisations, gender equality organisations, pensioners, the disabled, professions, consumers and the environment. He also proposed a rotating chairmanship whereby someone would be elected from the three fields and serve for two years.
“This system is very similar to the EU model and we are sure that if this scenario were to materialise, there would be much more fruitful and open discussions that would then lead to the drafting of a report which could be presented to the Prime Minister,” said Mr Zarb.
Mr Zarb said that changing the system would not mean that the government could not listen in or take part in discussions. “There could be occasions where they need an observer present. But with the alterations we are proposing, we are sure that we would have a better platform for discussion,” he said.
The union man also denied claims from other quarters that the GWU was isolated on this issue. “One only has to look at the various statements that are coming from civil society to see that they agree with us. We have also had statements of support from Gozo and the Malta Employers Association has also said that it agrees with the introduction of new representatives on the MCESD board,” said Mr Zarb. He said that every time the union tried to make constructive proposals, the same old record begins to play in the same old quarters.
Mr Zarb said the GWU felt that the setup it is proposing will allow for a better gauging of consensus. “At the end of the day, the government will be receiving feedback from a wider perspective. You can’t have governance inside governance. The MCESD needs to be a purely consultative board which the government then decides on accordingly,” he said.
He said it was not in the government’s interest to influence the opinions of groups that were supposed to give it their feedback. “Actually, the government should take a back seat so that it will be presented with unbiased suggestions and proposals. The ultimate aim is to try and reach the greatest level of consensus possible and negotiation at small committee levels can help to draw the various players closer together,” said Mr Zarb.
He also said that the MCESD should not shy away from making its opinions known. “There is no valid reason to not give a full picture of the local scenario and what we believe the solutions to problems are,” said Mr Zarb.
He said the MCESD should prepare written reports that are requested by the government, parliament or house committees. It should also take its own initiatives on various subjects as they arise and should also look into matters of national and European interest.
Asked what the union’s plans were for the rest of the year, Mr Zarb said that it would be putting together proposals which it will forward to the political parties in view of the upcoming general election.
“We believe that we have a number of suggestions which both parties would do well to include in their electoral manifestos. We will put them forward and chase the matter up, asking for confirmation as to whether they have been taken onboard,” said Mr Zarb.
Asked what the proposals are likely to contain, Mr Zarb said that first and foremost, the union wanted to ensure that there was no continuing erosion of working conditions, especially in companies in which the government is a shareholder.
“These conditions we are talking about include preservation of salaries, hours worked and allowances. We cannot continue with the current trend of standards of living being eroded,” said Mr Zarb.
Mr Zarb conceded that employers were facing problems of their own kind, but said that a happy balance must be found in order to safeguard everyone’s future.
When asked what were the main problems that workers were facing, Mr Zarb said: “Without a doubt it’s the increase in the cost of living. Something needs to be done about it and fast. We also believe it is about time that the weightings in the COLA (cost of living allowance) are looked into. To give an example, families do not consume as much bread as they used to in the past,” he said.
Asked to comment about the pre-budget document, Mr Zarb said: “It is indeed positive that it will be published in June. It will give us the time to analyse it before the next budget and we will definitely be providing the government with our suggestions,” he said.
Asked to comment about the introduction of the euro as legal tender, Mr Zarb said: “The most important thing is to stamp out abuse. We cannot have a situation where the euro will lead to more inflation, it must be kept down. We are hoping for a smooth transition, but we must be very careful,” he said.
Mr Zarb also touched on the issue of Air Malta and had a go at Minister for IT and Investment Austin Gatt, saying that he should allow negotiations to begin before making threatening statements against workers. “There have been no proposals yet, and still Dr Gatt is taking an arrogant attitude by threatening certain sections that they will be privatised if no agreement is reached,” he said.
Mr Zarb continued: “The Prime Minister should make sure that his ministers do not keep adopting an arrogant attitude when it comes to reforms. The Air Malta employees have already made a lot of sacrifices and I think it’s high time that there is an audit into the damage that the purchase of the RJ70’s caused the company some years back.”
Mr Zarb said the government also needed to do more to generate more jobs. “A lot more effort needs to be put in. Even when it comes to re-training redundant workers, there is still a long way to go. Retraining should start as soon as the announcement is made that a company is going to close, not when they are actually made redundant,” said Mr Zarb.
However, he said that this did not mean that there were no efforts at all. “The Employment and Training Corporation does try to offer re-training schemes, but they too need more support from the government,” he said.
The Malta Independent also pointed out that the government was trying to make inroads in setting up more childcare centres to encourage women to return to work. “It is true and they are needed, but this is a concept that we have been pushing for years. It is useless to set up childcare centres in far out areas. They need to be in the heart of where people work,” said Mr Zarb.
I suggested that it might be an idea to have more centres in places such as Valletta. “Yes, it is a good idea and as far as I know, the only childcare facility here is our own. That is the GWU’s maxim. To lead by example and to practise what we preach,” concluded Mr Zarb.