Employers want government to stay in MCESD

The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development should not abandon its role as a "consultative and advisory body", because that is its greatest strength, the Malta Employers' Association (MEA) said.

The government should continue to be represented within the organisation, it added.

The association said civil society should be represented and the council should not be held accountable for government decisions.

The government is not bound to stick to the recommendations of the social partners, even if there is a consensus among non-government members.

"In such instances, however, MCESD members, individually or collectively, can publicly voice their concern and mount pressure on the government, even in the media, to react otherwise.

"After all, the council is composed of several lobby groups. The government is also free to decide to adopt the recommendations of a minority of the council members if it considers such recommendations to work better in the national interest," the MEA said.

A lack of consensus within the council did not arise because of its structure but on the disposition of the social partners and their agenda.

"A more realistic approach will seek to achieve convergence among the social partners, not consensus.

"One can maintain that although consensus has been lacking on most issues, the debates have managed to bring parties closer to each other. The outcome of this is that, even in disagreement, there is a mutual understanding of divergent positions.

"One may add that, as with the social pact, there was indeed consensus on many points, but not on the final package. Although there was no agreement at a national level, this has had a considerable impact on negotiations of collective agreements at company level," the MEA said.

The association suggested that, following discussions, the council could prepare a report on the outcome of such talks.

"Even in case of a lack of consensus, a report can be prepared that specifies the stand adopted by the different organisations.

"MCESD members can be asked to sign such report to endorse its contents. The report can serve as a consultation document for the government on which to base its decisions.

"Members can opt not to have a position on an issue, and this will also be stated in the report.

"This would be a better alternative than deciding by vote. Voting on issues carries the danger of redefining the MCESD's true role as that of a consultative body".

Efforts had to be made to improve the council's effectiveness. "Discussions need to be more structured to avoid having members shooting from the hip. Rather than having everybody commenting at the same time on national budget proposals, each organisation can be allotted a time space to deliver a presentation with its proposals.

"Each presentation will be followed by questions from the other members, including government representatives and experts who may be present.

"Organisations should be encouraged to present position papers on issues that are going to be discussed. These can be circulated before a meeting on the related topic is held and should prove to be a basis for discussion. "The council should also commission reports by experts on specific issues. It is frequently the case that members speak emotively and make statements that are not backed by any factual information," the MEA said.