The prime minister may call a general election if and when he deems it necessary. The turbulence claims within the Nationalist Party (PN) and government levelled from various quarters have been marginalised. If I read the situation correctly, an early election is not on the PM’s mind and thus not round the corner.
With this out of the way I would expect politicians of the two major political parties to join forces to lay down a solid foundation for a new prosperous round of economic growth, once the effects of the current recession are over.
In my opinion it is not the appropriate time for partisan politics to come into play. Partisan rhetoric will not relieve workers or their employers from the hardship of the economic downturn and the difficult decisions that ensue. Partisan politics will only further erode the national stability that is essential to attract and encourage foreign direct investment to the Islands.
The high summer temperatures may lure most to the beaches. And others to the yearly holiday with their loved ones. Notwithstanding it’s the silly season, the social partners and other interested groups will attempt to address the economic ills and endeavour to tackle social, environmental and other important issues.
This year these discussions will be held in a different and difficult economic scenario: Malta is in recession. The economy is growing smaller and jobs may well be on the firing line. All interested parties have to treat this economic situation very carefully.
Unfortunately some of the old issues are still on the national agenda, Malta’s competitiveness, higher levels of productivity, cost of living adjustment mechanism and government bureaucracy. These are compounded further with workers’ redundancies and a high rate of inflation. We need to deal with these issues, some aggressively, others with great caution.
I will attempt to deal with these issues telegraphically.
Malta’s competitiveness and the granting of the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to workers and pensioners may be seen in sharp contrast with each other. The COLA is an effective tool implemented with the aim to restore the purchasing power of the consumers. This instrument has brought about industrial peace and economic stability.
The cost of living adjustment mechanism is an agreed formula between the three social partners and has been in force for a good number of years. The Retail Price Index mechanism has gained credibility with all the social partners. Unilateral changes to this formula will only bring about social tensions that will create economic instability. Minister Tonio Fenech’s recent statement in this regard is applauded.
Companies claiming that they are not in a financial position to award the COLA to their employees should be dealt with at enterprise level.
Trade union militancy does not come into play here. Most of us may recall the national industrial dispute over the cost of living adjustment in the early 90s. Workers were laid off because of a trade union’s militancy.
Malta, whether by design or out of necessity, cannot attract foreign direct investment based on low wages. Malta has over the years attracted world-class foreign direct investment on the basis of a highly adaptable and skilled workforce. Therefore, the competencies of our workforce should be developed further and engineered to suit a labour market that is continuously changing to market pressures. The economy will become more productive, innovative and competitive through better use of human potential. Human resources development and training also underpin the fundamental values of our society – equity, justice, social responsibility and participation. Workers’ strategy on employability is now a must.
Higher productivity can be improved through various initiatives whose design should be designated at enterprise level and effectively communicated to the relevant stakeholders. The adoption of the strategy should be tailor made to suit various needs at enterprise level.
Government bureaucracy is an issue that has been far too long on the national agenda. First and foremost, misconceptions and other irrelevant issues about public service employees need to stop. Perhaps a word of praise may help further motivate public service employees. They should not carry the stigma that is, without shadow of a doubt, not theirs.
On the other hand bureaucracy may well be detrimental to the business community if the newly introduced practice adopted by some ministers, allowing their immediate political appointed subordinates to take upon themselves the responsibility to manage the civil service, persists. Politically appointed staff to ministers should not be allowed to run the civil service. Only appointed directors and other senior staff within the service should be the ones to lead and be held accountable for their actions. This situation needs urgent addressing.
There is no economic growth without an appreciation of the social assistance programme perspective. The social assistance programme should ensure that only those entitled to benefits are extensively served with solidarity, whether in cash or kind.
From a trade union perspective, given our particular interest, we naturally keep an eye on the content of the economic statistics primarily to see how the sustainability of our well-entrenched social security system can be maintained. Solidarity takes more than the sheer demonstration and claims to safeguard it.
The benefits of an “open government” during this consultation process are very important. Meaningful social dialogue has been an effective instrument on various occasions on the island. I do not see why we cannot once again embrace the winning formula whereby stakeholders and other interested groups can see and delve in the workings and challenge commissioned reports.
Clouds in my coffee!!
Gejtu Vella is Secretary General – UHM
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