Dalli makes case for social pact

Social Policy Minister John Dalli yesterday stressed the importance of a social pact which he described as a safety net for employers and workers since both are "hanging on a cliff edge".

Mr Dalli's comments contrast sharply with the stance adopted by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech earlier this week who said he did not feel any urgent need for a social pact. This, he said, was "not because it's not desirable for one to be reached but an intensive attempt at doing so has already been made and, unfortunately, because of the country's political environment, it failed".

It was Central Bank Governor Michael Bonello who re-opened the debate during a business breakfast last Thursday when speaking about the need for consultations among the social partners in view of the prevailing economic situation.

Mr Dalli, a former Finance Minister, was speaking during a discussion organised by the General Workers' Union on the relevance of Labour Day in this day and age. The minister remarked that it was the first time he had entered the Workers' Memorial Building, in Valletta, the GWU's headquarters.

"The social pact is a safety net for employers and employees since both are hanging on a cliff edge and both need this net. We have to understand and properly manage the challenges posed by globalisation. Confrontation between employers and workers has to come to an end and be replaced by cooperation because the two have to continue to co-exist," he said.

Referring to the higher cost of oil and grain, which is pushing up the prices of several products, Mr Dalli said the situation has to be managed. The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) should be the main player and come up with a plan on how it will be managed.

MCESD chairman Sunny Portelli was on the same wavelength, saying the council was small and this made it more possible for the social partners to reach some form of consensus.

Whether it would be called a social pact or not is immaterial, he said, stressing that the most important thing is that consensus is reached.

"I am optimistic about the future of this country because of the skills of Maltese workers. Employers and workers are not only in the same boat but have to exist together.

"The way forward is dialogue and with a relatively small MCESD, consensus can be formed more easily.

"The future is not as bleak as portrayed but only if we utilise well the negotiating table we have at our disposition and understand this dependence on each other," he said.

Yesterday's discussion was attended by representatives from the Confederation of Maltese Trade Unions, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, the Malta Employers' Association and the Labour Office, among others.

Mr Dalli said he would insist that workers' conditions be included in public tenders and that these conditions be monitored while work is under way. Otherwise, he said, "the honest employers cannot compete against the cowboys" who employ workers illegally and under poor working conditions.

GWU general secretary Tony Zarb did not refer to the social pact. Instead, he focused on workers' rights and how their right to strike and follow industrial action cannot be denied.

He was reacting to Mr Dalli's comment that strike action and warnings of strike action were being used "frivolously" and not as a last resort.

Mr Zarb also spoke about the challenges workers would be facing in the near future including a higher cost of living and how solidarity between workers is being replaced by egoism.

In the afternoon Mr Zarb laid flowers at the foot of the monument to the worker in Msida, as part of the union's celebration of Labour Day, being marked today.