Thousands of students returned to their respective schools after the summer holidays. It seems that there were no hiccups and school started smoothly. I wish all of them well and also their teachers and other staff. But we Parliamentarians also started our meetings after the summer recess. In fact last Wednesday it was the first sitting for us too. It was a different and special sitting. After the usual question time the House paid tribute to President Emeritus Guido Demarco who died in August and as it is custom in these circumstances the House adjourns soon afterwards for another sitting since in this case the person was a former Head of State.

Before the tribute to Guido De Marco the House also remembered and gave the condolences to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and to the President of the Republic George Abela since both lost their respective fathers. This is how our ‘back to school’ was last Wednesday. Back to normality as from this evening, with a busy parliamentary schedule not only in the House but also in the Committees which are, as it should be, becoming more important year after year. In recent years the discussion in a number of parliamentary committees is much more relevant and interesting than in the House itself. Maybe there are those who argue that it should be like that. Personally I do not agree.

While of course the Committees should continue to grow in their importance since these are an extension of Parliament, however, I observe that in a good number of parliamentary sittings futile debates take place and at times also detached from the day to day reality.

At times certain legislation is so technical when compared to a situation being faced in the country. Therefore, I find it very strange when the House debates on a technicality and does not debate current important issues; that is why I said at times Parliament seems detached from reality. It is good that, from time to time, Parliament holds discussions on issues of national importance without taking a vote at the end of the debate. However, such debates must be followed by some sort of action from the executive otherwise this exercise will turn out to be a waste of time. Parliament should therefore take an active role in what is happening in the country.

I meet people who always ask me whether this or the other issue was debated in Parliament. Others confuse decisions taken by the government thinking that these were taken by Parliament. The responsibilities are different. The government has its role while Parliament has another, which at times should oppose that of the government of the day. But from these discussions with people, apart from the need to further educate on the responsibilities of every institution, I get the feeling that they are passing the message that Parliament should discuss

relevant issues.

One clear example is when the government introduced higher water and electricity tariffs. Some argued with me that Parliament should be more considerate when introducing these tariffs. When I replied that Parliament did not even discuss this issue but it was solely a decision taken by the government, these people remained astonished and asked the pertinent question: Then what do you discuss in Parliament? Of course I cannot blame them because they are totally correct. Parliament should be more relevant to the people’s lives. So now that we are ‘back to school’ hopefully in this session we will learn something and work harder to have a more relevant parliamentary institution.

Leading by example

Last week the Minister for Finance admitted that he was breaking the law when he said that he employed a maid not according to law. He spoke about the black economy and also that we have a number of women working but they are not declaring their income. The problem arises not only because the country is not gaining from tax revenue, but because in the case of benefits, such as sick leave, these people will not be entitled to anything.

We know that there are a number of families which are really struggling to make ends meet. In their opinion, working in the black economy is at times the only solution. This of course can cause problems as in the case of Tonio Fenech’s maid who after suffering an injury did not receive any injury benefit. But my main message is not whether action should be taken against the employer, in this case the Minister, but what can we do as a country to help these vulnerable families. Preaching about the importance of the family is not enough since action speaks louder than words. If we want to protect the family and stop the current hemorrhage the government should study the financial situation of a number of families since there are instances when financial problems and constraints lead to family break downs.

Carmelo Abela MP

Labour main spokesperson for industry and foreign investment

Email: [email protected]