The Jean Paul Sofia inquiry board is recommending that qualified geologists are involved on construction sites where excavations are needed. This would serve to establish the strength of the rock where the excavations are to take place.

In its report, the public inquiry board said that that the culture of prevention and enforcement needs to be cultivated and given priority if, individuals - not only in offices but especially in workplaces - are to be competent in their work because they are trained and qualified.

In this context, the board said that the testimony of Director of the Centre for Labour Studies at the University of Malta Dr Luke Anthony Fiorini was important because it should be considered an eye-opener for anyone genuinely interested in making occupational health and safety a real priority, not just in discourse, but in practice in the country.

“Dr  Fiorini's statement assumes even more relevance in the context of what Executive Director of OHSA Mark Gauci said when he firmly emphasized that OHSA was thinking of collaborating with MCAST to introduce an OHS course in that educational institution,” the inquiry read.

It added, however, that although a range of learning and qualification opportunities is good in principle, it doesn't suffice for every field at all times.

The board said that from 1997 up till 2014, the University offered a course of Diploma in Social Studies (Occupational Health and Safety) on part time basis in the evenings, where many were mature students.

The inquiry read that this was a successful course as it produced “all health and safety officials in the sector today.”

The board questioned the decision on the need felt to raise the level from a Diploma, where in the academic year 2015-2016, a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Health and Safety on a party time basis and held every two years was introduced.

The Diploma consisted of 60 credits while the Degree required 180 credits. The inquiry explained that if someone obtains 90 credits in the Degree course, they can stop and obtain the Diploma.

Therefore, to obtain the Diploma, you need to have an additional 30 credits out of the 60 previously required. The inquiry board said that this meant that a person needed three years to obtain the diploma.

Apart from that, a person with an already acquired Diploma can enter the third year of the Degree, which takes five years.

“Was this change for the better?” the inquiry questioned. It said that statistics provided by Fiorini show that from 1997 until now, there were 382 graduates and/or diploma holders, of whom 279 applied for the Diploma course while 103 went for the Degree. In total, there were 257 graduates, including 210 who obtained the Diploma.

The inquiry read that the figures show that the Diploma is more attractive than the Degree. They also show that the Diploma, as it was until 2014, became even more attractive than the Diploma after 2015, mainly due to the increase in credits and duration.

In its recommendations, the inquiry board said that while updating university courses is always good, it should be done cautiously as it is not in anyone’s interest to repel interested individuals.

“The sector is already fragile as many find it difficult to find people. If this is the case, no person who wants to raise their professional level, should find obstacles at University. It should be the University that should properly manage to find a balance between updating levels and requirements with the attractiveness of interested individuals to go for a Diploma,” the inquiry read, deeming this as unnecessary.

It said that this remedy should not be sought at MCAST because the University is becoming more demanding in the product it is seeking.

The inquiry said that individuals would be attracted if the goal of measuring professional competence is not achieved by merely setting standards.

“Although the intention for the university course was to elevate the professional level of OHS in Malta, the Board recommends that the University should reconsider its part so that the OHS sector, which is already vulnerable, does not become more vulnerable than it already is,” it read.

When excavations are to take place, a geologist should be involved by law, the board said, noting the controversy that erupted about the correctness of the latest geological map, with a representative of the Chamber of Geologists exposing mistakes and omissions, while the government representative said otherwise.

The inquiry also noted that the bank guarantee quantum is not adequate for today’s times. The amount should be 20 per cent of the estimate of the cost, drawn up by an architect.

The BCA should also intervene immediately when any work is causing damage to third parties. It should immediately stop the work and only allow resumption upon verification that everything is in order.

People sitting on the BCA or OHSA should not be reflecting the minister’s voice, but should be people of competence and able to give direction. The BCA and OHA should emphasise more on inspections. There should be a hand-on approach in this regard, doing away with red tape.

The licensing of stone masons is a step in the right direction, but this is not enough.

The board also recommended that the executive arm of the OHSA should be separate from its other functions of promition, education and sharing of information. This would mean that conflict of interest would be avoided.

The board said that the experience in other countries should be taken into account. Political direction is important, but what is needed is enforcement. The laws that are enacted must make sense, reduce bureaucracy and be effective.

The inquiry board also spoke of issues in how the reporting of incidents and dangerous occurrences are carried out in workplaces. The board recommended that the OHSA update existing legislation by using the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 of the United Kingdom as a model. “There should be no bias of any kind to prevent this from happening,” it said.

With regards to the Lands Authority, the Board is of the opinion that even when the administration of land or other government property passes to other entities in the public administration, there should always be control measures or residual powers to ensure that the public interest remains paramount.

It said that it is not only about someone bearing responsibility, but the State must deploy itself so that the control of common goods is effectively carried out, and this cannot be done with the dispersion of powers not controlled by good governance to entities where good governance has not yet reached.

The board said that government has the power to provide strategic directions through law, and the board considered this as one of them.

The inquiry read that during the gathering of evidence, the transposition of the EU Directive on Mobile or Temporary Construction Sites into Maltese legislation was not done properly. It was emphasized that the transposition of the EU Directive on Mobile or Temporary Construction Sites into our legislation was not done properly.
Upon its own research, the Board observed that it is not of the same understanding, because it seems that the transposition was done as it should have been.

However, the Board took the opportunity to insist that authorities should always put attention to the transposition of EU legislation into domestic law with due care and attention to ensure that the minimum protections provided for in EU legislation are not only all inserted into legislation but beyond minimum, they go for further legal protection.The board read that competence which is also extended to a person with a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, is not enough, as this is an academic qualification that does not lead to a warrant.

It said that there must be an engineer with a warrant practicing in civil engineering once the site revolves around construction and building.On Development Notification Orders, the Board believes that Legal Notice 211 of 2016 needs to be amended so that development zones in Class 16 are removed from the DNO procedure.

“Thus, Development in Malta Industrial Parks and Malta Enterprise Zones will require full development applications. Furthermore, even in cases of development in those zones, a method statement must be submitted to the BCA,” it said.On free standing structures the board did not want to enter into the controversy over which authority had the remit for the development of free-standing structures.

The board said that any ambiguity must be eliminated, legal certainty must be clearly established, the building must be under the control of the BCA, and it must be subject to all regulations enforced, nothing excluded.“Uncertainties and lacunae should not be tolerated. At the same time, the Board affirms that whoever was responsible for persisting lacunae must be removed immediately. Maximum clarity must be “la linea maestra,”” the inquiry board said.

The Board insisted that if indeed the architect is responsible for the structure, there must be an authority to identify the deficiencies of the architect and ensure that they are rectified before any tragedy occurs, and that authority must be the BCA.
“With the greatest respect for the opinions of the State Advocate regarding the responsibilities of the architect and the contractor, the merit of the inquiry does not concern them, but the State.

If they failed, they would face civil and criminal consequences, but nevertheless, the State cannot exempt itself from responsibility for allowing legal and legislative uncertainty and controversy to persist unnecessarily. That is why earlier, the positive obligation of the State was mentioned,” the inquiry board read.

In its conclusions, the board cited a speech by an English MP who was Secretary of State for Employment Harold Walker in 1979, during a forum organised with the British Safety Council (BSC) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA). Walker had said that, “laws alone cannot prevent death and injury at work. Whatever legislation is enacted will always be dependent for its effectiveness on the spirit, will and determination of all those responsible for its implementation – management and workers alike.”“It is only in this way that health and safety precautions will not become just a mere paper exercise. Today there is a new awareness of the need to diminish the grief, suffering and hardship caused by occupational accidents and diseases,” the quote continues.

“The best way to achieve this is through a co-operative endeavour between management and worker. Death, injury and disease should not be part of the routine pursuit of earning a living. They will only recede into the shadows of history if there is a concerted effort to push them there,” the quote concludes.The inquiry board said that what was said over 40 years ago is still relevant today.

The report was signed by the board’s Chairman Judge Emeritus Joseph Zammit McKeon, Auditor General Charles Deguara and Architect Mario Cassar.