Editorial

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi appears to have been satisfied with the meeting he had with the government's "partners" in the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development. The term partners is being used within quotes because it does seem that not all of them feel they are in fact partners in development. It is most discouraging to see that after so many years in which the Nationalist government paid so much lip-service to dialogue, it fails to live by its own word in such vital a matter as economic and social development.

The General Workers' Union is making much of the fact that the meeting had been called after its urgent appeal for the government to inform the MCESD members of what it is actually proposing. Well, the union is quite right on this. For does this mean that had the union not called for the meeting, the government would have just gone along with its programme to cut expenditure without even letting its "partners" know what it had in mind? Or if it did, when exactly did it plan to meet the partners?

Of course, the government had, and still has, every right to go ahead with its own programme but surely this is not what it meant when it preached dialogue at all levels of society.

Tony Zarb, the union's general secretary, was right too when he said the council should not be used by the government to rubber stamp its decisions. He did say though that the meeting was useful and it is from there that the council members ought to go now. In other words, more of such "useful" meetings ought to be held to ensure that the programme to put public finances on a sound footing is carried out to the full in order to meet the targets set in the convergence plan.

The government would have a greater chance of meeting its targets if it works together with the rest of the social partners as represented in the MCESD. The more the unions and the other council members are attuned to the government's and the country's urgent needs, the better it would be for the administration to push forward other reforms it needs to pilot to bring about greater efficiency, not just in the government service but in the country as a whole.

Gejtu Vella, general secretary of the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, was more direct in his criticism of the government over the matter of consultation. He feels, again rightly so, that the MCESD should be the main forum where the economy, job creation and social justice should be discussed. He argues that the government's attitude, in not consulting its partners at the right time, showed it had no real interest in including the social partners in economic reforms.

The government, the UHM noted, had consulted the Central Bank, the National Statistics Office and a number of ministries before submitting the report to the EU but had left the unions out completely. Such an attitude on the part of the government is self-defeating.

Dr Gonzi keeps insisting the convergence plan is nothing more than what was proposed in the budget for this year. But the reaction by the two largest trade unions in the country seems to indicate otherwise.

The country has a better chance of finding solutions to the many problems facing the economy if the government acts in partnership with the trade unions and other organisations through the MCESD.