Cabinet immune under whistleblower clause in bill - Labour

The Labour Party yesterday reiterated that a clause in the 2007 Public Administration Bill to protect whistleblowers does not go far enough.

Labour MP Helena Dalli said the eight-line paragraph in the new bill - which was presented by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi earlier this month - only protected workers who blew the whistle on their colleagues, but not on ministers or the Prime Minister.

Speaking during a press conference yesterday morning, Ms Dalli said that even the provision for whistleblowers within the Industrial Relations Act was not enough as many workers were not aware of it.

She said the government panicked after former Nationalist Party president Frank Portelli made allegations of corruption at Mater Dei Hospital and asked Government to introduce a Whistleblower Act, so it included eight lines in the Public Administration Bill.

Ms Dalli stressed the importance for a fully fledged Whistleblower Act, which all employees would be aware of, and not a clause hidden in another law.

"Workers need to be aware of it," she said, adding that workers abroad were empowered to speak up because they knew there was a law to protect them. She said Labour's plans for public administration included a law that protected whistleblowers.

Labour MP Joe Mizzi lamented that a democratic form of gathering information - asking supplementary questions in Parliament - was being undermined by Dr Gonzi. He accused the Prime Minister of putting a muzzle on MPs, stopping them from using Parliament to blow the whistle.

He said there was 'dirt' across the public sector - including the Police Corps, the Courts, the Malta Transport Authority, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, and the Malta Maritime Authority - but people were afraid of uncovering it for fear of retribution.

Mr Mizzi said Government was not taking any steps to rectify abuse, but was more interested in investigating those who exposed abuse.