The initiative to reform the system by which third country nationals are recruited to work in Malta is being well run. The same cannot always be said about national changes or other "reforms" that get launched.

In preparing for change, all those having some stake or who participate in a given sector should be involved. It appears that in fact the necessary consultations are being done properly. When dealing directly with foreign workers it must be difficult to ensure this but the government has done well in having also kept as a priority the interests of these workers. Apart from considerations of social justice, it is not desirable at all that Malta acquires the reputation of a place where the poor of other countries get blatantly exploited.

However I might have missed the reply which could already have been given to a crucial point that was raised. In order for third country nationals not to get cheated in the wages they are paid, it is being proposed that their wages must be paid directly by bank transfer, which makes a lot of sense. But then it has been claimed that banks do not accept easily to open bank accounts for third country nationals. Is this the case?

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BBB

I got to know him for the first time more than forty years ago as the secretary of the board which selected students for entry to the University. Benny Borg Bonello was an exemplary colleague in the work we carried out, according to the regulations of the time, to ensure that the selection of students be done in the fairest and most transparent way possible.

Years later, for a long time, we worked on the political campaigns of the Labour Party where he gave a major contribution, while always remaining at the background of events.

After that we lost contact with each other. I still followed his activities in a "pioneering" consumers' union which never got the support of the state that it deserved. As usual his work there was assiduous, sincere, dedicated even if low profile.

I was moved by news of his death. BBB merited a wider recognition and appreciation. My deep condolences to his family.

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GOVERNANCE

Governance has become a topic of huge relevance to Malta. Which doesn't hold only for the government, as some would pretend. Private and social institutions are equally of concern.

Thus one cannot but be astonished by what the media reported about a leading trade union which is frequently involved in disputes, justified or not. It has failed to hold an annual general meeting for more than two years. Its leaders have declared that annual general meetings were no longer so necessary as the union's accounts are being audited by a reputable professional auditing firm!

A substantial number of members requested that a general meeting be held. Instead, within the existing managing committee, a motion of confidence in the present leadership was voted. And so the problem was solved!

Indeed it was declared that a general meeting of members could be held when some dispute or other with the government had been cleared. Approaches to serious governance have become a game of political and social football... and it depends on who is kicking the ball!