The Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue, Andy Ellul, said that "according to the advice we are receiving, legally, it is not advisable for us to promote mandatory union membership."

Instead, the government is working to increase union membership through other ways, Ellul said in an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday.

The Labour Party, in its electoral manifesto, promised in item 193 to push for, and potentially formalise, mandatory trade union membership.

The idea was opposed by employer bodies and others, who argued that forcing someone to join a trade union went against human rights. The government for months insisted on looking for ways how to fulfil its pledge. Last September, Ellul had told Times of Malta that some form of mandatory union membership would come to life "well before" the end of this legislature.

But something must have changed in between as now the government is pursuing a different road.

"Therefore, we are exploring, even through discussions with the GWU and UĦM, to see how we as a government can come up with some sort of measure to increase union membership," PS Ellul told this newsroom.

Ellul added that in his view, the electoral promise should have never included the word "mandatory" to begin with.

"I don't think the word 'mandatory' should have been there in reality," PS Ellul said.

When asked for an update on this electoral pledge, Ellul observed that the text in the electoral manifesto primarily called for opening a discussion on mandatory union membership - a point which, he said, was accomplished, given the many opinions written on the subject by academics, legal experts, opinion writers, and newsroom editors around the country.

Many sceptics, including employer representatives such as the Malta Employers' Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of SMEs, and the Malta Hotel and Restaurants Association, expressed the opinion that no worker should be forced to join any trade union should they not want to. They had also said that this proposal goes against principles enshrined by the Constitution of Malta and international conventions safeguarding fundamental rights. In contrast, trade unions were, unsurprisingly, in favour of this idea becoming reality.

While the government may be taking a step back from introducing mandatory trade union membership, the government is hoping that unionisation in Malta will grow.

"As a politician, I can easily say that I accomplished what was expected out of me," he said, "However, I do not want to stop there - I hope to see unionisation in Malta continue to grow."

Ellul remarked that when union membership rates are high amongst the workforce, "that means that workers have greater opportunities for protection."

He stated that with higher union membership, the government must continue strengthening the Department for Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) to see that workers' rights continue to be safeguarded, as well as to have better working conditions and wages.

Government to announce special leave for parents with newborns sent to NPICU

Ellul said that the government will soon be announcing a special type of leave dedicated for parents who give birth to a baby who is immediately sent to the Neonatal & Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (NPICU) for treatment.

Ellul said that a public consultation process will be opened after this special leave is announced through a national conference. He said that this will all commence "soon".

"We need to learn what couples go through and what is needed in reality. We need to see that we produce a law that truly makes a difference to people's lives," PS Ellul said.

Like the public consultation process to introduce miscarriage leave, this type of parental leave was not listed in the Labour Party's electoral manifesto for the 2022 general election. Ellul commented that when politics is conducted with the people, it is natural for policymakers to come across realities that they wouldn't have previously thought about when writing up the party's list of electoral pledges - miscarriage leave was one of these realities, he said.

Ellul added said that the public consultation for miscarriage leave will close in the coming fortnight. Following this public consultation, the main proposals collected will be presented to social partners.

"My wish is for it to be enter into force as soon as possible, though I cannot give you a timeline," he said, "I can tell you for certain that I will not stop, as a politician, before I see it introduced."

Ellul observed that "this is not something to be rushed" and that the government wants to ensure that miscarriage leave is offered with the necessary psychological support before it is presented in Parliament.

His Parliamentary Secretariat is also working on the second phase of its reform on wage regulation orders, which Ellul said is going well; this is a reform relating to the Industrial Tribunal, as well as the Parliament Bill affecting the MCESD that has now reached the Committee Stage.

This Bill will reform the MCESD so it is "run like every other organisation through the leadership of a chief executive." It is aimed for the MCESD to appoint a CEO to handle its financial and administrative matters since, at the moment, such matters are currently occupying the Council's time from its agenda.

'If the MCESD was a talking shop in the past, I've certainly not let it remain a talking shop'

PS Ellul dismissed the notion that the MCESD is a talking shop, remarking that "if it used to be a talking shop, I certainly haven't let it be a talking shop in the time I took over its political responsibility."

Ellul noted that oftentimes, two ministers are present for MCESD meetings. The MCESD has a role to help collect budget proposals and data, and actively participated in the construction of Vision 2050.

He commended the dialogue with social partners present in the MCESD, calling it "the strongest forum when it comes to social dialogue" in the country.

This reform will also install a "Young Shapers Forum" within the MCESD. This forum will be made up of adolescents between 11-15 years of age, selected by the Commissioner for Children through a formal process, who will sit with the MCESD and have the opportunity to be part of the government's decision-making process.

"The Young Shapers Forum is a first, something innovative and historic because we are empowering youths to participate in a quasi-decision-making process. When it comes to youth participation, the MCESD is making history," Ellul said.

'If there was a government that listens, it is this one'

Ellul said that the present administration listens to the people and tackles issues of national interest head on.

"What gives me peace of mind is that we are a dynamic, progressive government that, definitely, will keep listening to the people and keep reacting," Ellul said.

He noted that social dialogue "is crucial" to this government and for Maltese democracy. Ellul mentioned his responsibility "to try to strike a balance between the interest of unions and the interests of employers" and commended some examples where social dialogue resulted in very positive outcomes, e.g., increasing penalties on employment offences, increasing urgent family leave, and the legal right (as of 27 August) for job applicants to request their salary before starting a new position.

"By virtue of such laws, we manage to create an ecosystem which is giving results. We have full employment in Malta, we are champions of workers' rights," PS Ellul said.

He noted that he has always managed to gather a consensus amongst social partners within the MCESD and DIER's Employment Relations Board when discussing proposed laws, just prior to tabling a draft Bill in Parliament.

The Parliamentary Secretary was asked whether relevant authorities were going to address repeated complaints that tables and chairs in certain residential squares, such as in Valletta or Victoria, Gozo, have been impeding access into said public areas for emergency services and citizens.

In this regard, PS Ellul stated that a balance must be sought: "a balance between having this gem of a country continue to offer what it has to us and tourists, and on the other hand, we must respect certain situations - including residential issues."

While saying that this subject does not fall under his remit, Ellul noted how Valletta used to be "a ghost town" where people used to fear walking along the capital's streets in the evenings. He said that nowadays, the commercial activity of Valletta has given ambience to the capital city for this to no longer be the case.

The Parliamentary Secretary was also asked why the judicial bills, Bill 126 and Bill 134, were only discussed internally amongst parliamentarians, despite public outcry for public consultations to be launched. These bills respectively relate to the magisterial inquiry reform and the recent constitutional amendments (most of which were blocked through non-consensus in the House) relating to the judiciary that included raising the retirement age for judges up from 68 to 70 years of age.

Here, Ellul responded that Parliament is the highest institution the country has and noted that, in his view, "it's useless to speak about governance and not act," and that fortunately, this government acts on what it says.

He then criticised how the Opposition has not been pulling the government's rope and impeded progress from being achieved through the passing of important legislation, such as Bill 134 with the constitutional amendments that required a two-thirds majority to be enacted.