Senior public service appointments

Mr Emanuel Abela, Director of Information (The Sunday Times, November 30), informs us that "at upper levels the seniority system has gone for good". Could he let us know when this happened?

The information I have is that although eligibility is not spelt out in the circular under reference, prospective applicants are expected to know that Section 92 (4) of the Constitution specifically provides that headship appointments are limited to senior public officers.

Reference has also been made to Chapter 1 of the Public Service Management Code. Further, calls for applications for Assistant Directors require that applicants occupy Grade 5 or Principal on Salary Scale 7 or with 12 years' experience.

It is only in November that there was a call for headship positions (director) where no such grades were required. For example: OPM Circular No. 45/2003 - Filling of Headship Positions/Director (EU Affairs) Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure: Director (EU Affairs) Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment; Director (Programme Implementation), Ministry for Rural Affairs and Environment.

Could Mr Abela please clarify if the requirement of being in a high grade for applications for headship positions (director), has been removed only for this particular call in November 2003, and whether subsequent calls for headship positions (director) will again require being in a high grade after this November call? If, indeed, the merit system has started to operate in the public service, could Mr Abela provide this date and information on the selection criteria of this merit system?

Mr Abela also informs us of the rapid advancement for capable young officers but there is no reference to the opportunities for any advancement of highly qualified and experienced Maltese officers, with international credentials at par with the foreign experts paid salaries of Lm5,000 a month.

Since discrimination based on any ground such as age is prohibited by Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (Re: EU Ombudsman Press Release No 12/2002) could Mr Abela clarify how age is treated in the merit system and what criteria other than age are in the merit system, bearing in mind requirements of a level playing-field as regards equity in employment (Directive 2000/78/EC), equal treatment of men and women in access to employment and posts at all levels of the hierarchy (Directive 76/207/EEC) and the Guidelines for Employment target to reach an employment rate of 57 per cent for women by 2005 and 50 per cent among the 55-64 age group?