The PN on Tuesday tabled a motion in Parliament presenting their amendments to the legal notice on the licensing of contractors, saying that the new regulations should extend to further professions, such as those in the building services as well as finishing works.

Government, in reply, has said that the amendments were “rushed” and “thoughtless” and said it would not be backing the motion.  A final vote on it will take place on 18 December.

The legal notice (169) published by the Planning Ministry last July introduced new rules which require contractors to obtain a license for construction, demolition and excavation works, also requiring them to gain provisional approval for them to continue working until January 2025.

PN spokesperson for Planning Stanley Zammit presented the three key points of the amendments during the discussion on Tuesday, one of which proposing that all occupations related to the completion of a building (painters, plasterers, other finishing works) should also be covered with a license, in addition to building services, such as installation of air-conditioning, gas, internet, telecommunications, and more.

Zammit said that licensing should be extended to the point of when a building is usable, as more construction site incidents happen at finishing stage.

The government legal notice also requires contractors to have an insurance policy which covers third-party damages and damages to workers for any works being done.

The PN proposed that contractors have permanent insurance policies on all their operations, not only for specific works, including a Contractors’ All Risk (CAR) insurance policy, have an Employer’s Liability insurance policy, as well as possess a policy which covers Public Liability for the entire period of responsibility of the works, and not only related to projects.

Zammit pointed out that the current law means that contractors are not covered for what happens while works are not in progress.

The PN proposed more compliance tests, including with tax authorities and the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER). It also proposed that contractors would also have to go through environmental, social, and corporate governance audits.

“Government has also failed to consider the submissions made by those who participated in the consultation process, and failed to listen fully to those people,” Zammit said.

Through these amendments, Zammit said that this must lead to a clear plan in the construction sector.

He said that the number of accidents at the workplace is not few, and the number of cases related with improper work in this sector is very common, with many doing works without the proper skills, mentioning as well “cowboy” contractors.

Zammit said that the skills card system is still too weak. “We must strengthen the skills card system in a definite way,” he said.

Planning Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, in reply, said that government is implementing large changes which are needed in the construction sector, and changes promised in the PL electoral promise.

He said that the legal notice for the licensing of contractors meant more seriousness, more responsibility, and higher quality in the sector.

Zrinzo Azzopardi said that beyond these aims, the legal notice gave a clear number of entities and contractors who have applied to work in the sector by 31 October of this year, mentioning 2,233 applications for demolition works, 806 applications for excavation, and 1,754 applications for construction.

He said that it is a change in itself that those who failed to apply by 31 October could not operate in the sector from 1 November onwards. Aside from this, Zrinzo Azzopardi said that the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) now has a clear statistic of how many operators there are in the sector.

Mentioning the Quintano Report, issued after the death of Miriam Pace in Hamrun, Zrinzo Azzopardi said that out of the 77 recommendations made, 70 recommendations have either been implemented, or are in their final stages of implementation, contrary to Zammit’s words on the report being “left on the shelf.”

“The Quintano report is being implemented in a structured way, initiative after initiative, in which in each phase, anyone involved is continuously consulted,” Zrinzo Azzopardi said.

He expressed worry at the PN’s motion on the consultation aspect, saying that it is clear that the amendments being proposed, particularly the increase of licenses to more professions, show that no consultation was done.

Zrinzo Azzopardi tabled an email sent by CEO of the Chamber of SMEs Abigail Agius Mamo ahead of the discussion of the motion, where she said that, “whilst it is agreed that services related to the building industry should be formalised, it is not agreed that what is being proposed is a sensible policy proposal.”

Agius Mamo also wrote that “such operations described in the motion should be formalized through skills card systems, and there should also be consultation.” Zrinzo Azzopardi then pointed out that stakeholders were not consulted for the PN’s motion.

He showed photos of stakeholder consultation meetings ahead of the legal notice, adding that the person’s livelihood must be discussed.

Zrinzo Azzopardi called the PN’s motion as “rushed” and “without thought” and said that according to the PN’s motion, anyone in professions of building services, such as installation of telecommunications, has to stop working as they failed to apply by 31 October.

He said that there is ongoing preparational works to regulate works such as waterproofing, with discussions being held with the authority responsible for standards.

Zrinzo Azzopardi addressed the motion’s amendment that whoever exercises a position or profession related to the sector, cannot sit on Committees governing the sectors, saying that this shows a lack of respect towards the profession and while conflicts of interest must be declared, he said that architects cannot have a conflict of interest with thousands of projects.

On insurance, Zrinzo Azzopardi said that government is undergoing discussions with insurance companies on what kind of insurance policies the sector needs.

“It is important to point out however, that insurances do not prevent accidents, but safeguard those responsible when it comes to applicable damages. The main aim is to prevent incidents, as well as the awareness of how things work,” Zrinzo Azzopardi said.

On employer’s liability, government had proposed this, but insurance companies had said that it would be better if this was applied across the board, and not only the construction sector.

He said that next year, government will continue with campaigns of awareness for anyone involved in the construction industry to understand their responsibilities, including employees, the employers and clients appointing contractors, as there is a “serious lack of awareness of their responsibilities.”

Next year, government will also introduce the legal notice on project supervisors, the new law on the licensing of masons and the conclusion of building codes. “2024 will be another year of structured changes in this sector, and each step we take, we will consult,” Zrinzo Azzopardi said.