Malta needs to urgently make use of all its human resources - Gonzi

Social Policy Minister Lawrence Gonzi told parliament yesterday that the Employment and Industrial Relations Bill was aimed at enabling Malta to make full use of its human resources. The bill would also put Malta on a par with the minimum labour sector standards of advanced European countries.

Dr Gonzi was speaking during the opening of the debate on the bill which, once it becomes law, will replace the Industrial Relations Act and the Conditions of Employment Regulation Act (CERA).

At the opening of the debate Dr Gonzi said he was sure the bill would mark an important step forward in the evolution of workers` rights and economic development. This bill reflected the government`s commitment to invest in human resources, which was the best resource the country had.

He viewed this bill as being responsive to current economic and social realities and it would serve the country well into the future.

Dr Gonzi said the bill was the result of hard work by many people and it was unfair for anybody to compare what workers or employers had achieved. The only real victor should be the country. This bill was the fruit of the experiences of the past years. The biggest lesson learnt over the years was that economic development went hand in hand with social development.

It was a happy coincidence that this bill was being moved on the eve of Workers` Day. Indeed it was his hope that this feast would one day be celebrated at the national level, and not by the political parties.

This bill would not only help workers attain their aspirations and therefore contribute more to national development, but it would also help create conditions whereby the unemployed would find work.

Dr Gonzi said he had described this bill as a major step forward for Malta`s social and economic development because all studies by Maltese and foreign experts had shown that Malta could not afford to lose any of its human resources. Everybody agreed that Malta`s employment rate was low compared to other countries, both in the case of men and women. Too many people were not involved in wealth creation. Specifically, there was a long way to go with regard to the role of women in economic development, not just in the employment rate, but also decision- making.

A Joint Assessment Paper, drawn up by EU and Maltese experts and published last October, highlighted the challenges of the labour sector Malta faced. The paper said, among other things, that up to the end of 2000, the employment rate was only 54 per cent, of whom 75 per cent were men. Happily, women`s participation rate was growing, from 27.4 per cent in 1994 to 32.1 per cent in 2000. The participation rate of men had dropped slightly, from 76 per cent in 1994 to 75.4 per cent in 2000. Women constituted 52 per cent of the growth in the gainfully occupied over the past few years.

Up to the end of 2000, 19,000 people worked part-time only, of which nearly 60 per cent were women, a further indication that Malta needed to study developments in the part-time work sector.

The paper showed the education level of workers was rising slowly. In 1990, only 56 per cent of students chose to further their education beyond secondary school. By 1999 that figure grew to 66 per cent. However, the choices being made by students were still limited to the traditional professions and careers. Too few people were opting for the vocational sector.

The paper said the challenge Malta faced was to raise workers` participation rate and their skills level.

Malta needed to urgently instil greater flexibility in its labour market so as to improve its competitiveness. It also needed to promote investment in workers` training, something which could only come about with a culture change. Training could not be seen as a waste of time.

There needed to be greater emphasis on meeting the needs of the vocational sector.

There also needed to be renewed emphasis on curbing abuse of the social security system, including employment benefits.

The Employment and Training Corporation had a central role to match job vacancies with supply and to create training courses as the economy required.

The bill aimed to meet these realities. It sought to help workers as well as employers. The latter would benefit if workers stayed in their employ after training. A reality evident over the past years was that women, in particular, left their job after marriage and did not return, despite the training that they would have been given, a situation which was detrimental to employers.

Dr Gonzi said existing labour legislation was outdated because it was based on different realities, hence the need for this new law.

Furthermore, Malta had bound itself internationally to match international minimum standards of workers` rights as established by the International Labour Organisation and the Council of Europe through the European Social Charter, among others. That had, so far, not been possible in many cases. In other instances Malta had not even been able to make a commitment to attain those standards.

This bill, Dr Gonzi said, could not be seen in isolation. Over the past three years the government had also formally set up the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, the Occupational Health and Safety Authority and the Vocational College (MCAST). Parliament also enacted the Cooperative Societies Act.

This bill had been moved because Malta needed it to develop its potential. In view of the EU accession process, the government had followed the social and labour sector minimum standards laid down by the EU.

Dr Gonzi spoke on the process which led to the drawing up of this bill. He recalled that soon after the government`s return to power he had met the members of the then MCED and outlined the government`s priorities, asking the council members to submit their own proposals. Up to 471 employers had answered a questionnaire on the foreseen economic impact of the government`s measures.

The publication of the White Paper last December had elicited a strong response.

It was a pity that the opposition had already declared it was going to vote against the bill but without calling a division, because it was aligning itself with the position taken by the GWU.

The government had decided not to stop at publishing the bill, adjusted with all the positive feedback received, but it had also published the regulations that would come into effect once the bill became law. The government would abide by its promise to consult the Employment Relations Board before making the relevant legal notices effective.

Turning to the contents of the bill, Dr Gonzi said everything related to occupational health and safety was now included in this law.

Parental leave was being introduced for the private sector, as it existed for government workers.

There was development in the way women could receive maternity leave and new provisions on urgent leave for family reasons were being introduced.

Privileged pay was being improved to six months at the minimum wage (currently Lm1,200) from the current rate of Lm200. Workers` privileged pay would have priority over payments to creditors when companies folded.

A Guarantee Fund was being established which would help workers when companies which folded had no money or assets whatsoever with which to pay workers. The government would finance the fund for the first five years at Lm50,000 annually.

Protection was being introduced to workers who in agreement with their employers worked reduced hours. This was especially beneficial to women.

The bill introduced greater protection to the rights of part-time workers and those on a definite contract of work, and they would have the right to benefit from training schemes.

Protection was being given to workers against victimisation for standing up for their rights and for reporting irregularities.

Measures were being introduced against sexual harassment at the place of work.

Protection against discrimination or exploitation was being given to foreign workers who worked in Malta according to law.

There was also protection against discrimination among workers in the private sectors.

Workers had to be kept informed of developments at their place of work and greater protection would be given to workers with regard to collective redundancies. In such cases, dismissals could not be made overnight but sufficient notice had to be given to the workers and the ETC, among others.

Protection was also being afforded to workers in cases of mergers.

The Industrial Tribunal would have greater powers, in line with the new measures being introduced by this bill.

There would be the right of appeal on points of law from decisions by the tribunal.

There were also new provisions to improve the conciliation process.

The bill also updated the list of services which were to be considered as essential. To date, workers providing such services could not go out on strike or refer their case before some body for settlement. Now the bill laid down that the representatives of these workers could refer disputes to the Joint Negotiating Council and if no solution was found, the matter would be referred to the Industrial Tribunal for decision.

Dr Gonzi said this bill differed from the White Paper published some months ago on many counts. Among the most salient changes was that the definition of "discrimination" and "discriminatory treatment" had been extended.

Dr Gonzi said that following the publication of the White Paper controversy had erupted over sympathy strikes. That stemmed from the definition of "industrial dispute". The government had declared it had no intention to remove sympathy strikes and it would retain the definition as it existed now in existing law. Thus the definition had been copied from the existing law word for word.

Dr Gonzi said that in the definition of "worker" a paragraph which he viewed as important and which had a bearing on sympathy strikes had by mistake been omitted from the bill. When he realised this mistake he immediately admitted it. This was his own mistake, made during his typing, and an amendment would be moved in the committee stage.

Dr Gonzi said the bill gave greater powers of the Joint Negotiating Council than originally laid down in the White Paper and made its composition more flexible.

Concluding, Dr Gonzi said this bill confirmed the government`s commitment to improve workers` conditions and give the country a law which could be responsive to social and economic needs.