Consensus politics in the dock

No sooner had the Labour Party leader proposed bipartisan consensus politics as the way forward for resolving issues of national interest that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi nipped this mature approach in the bud by going it alone in addressing the shipyards problems. By putting this new way of doing politics in the dock, Dr Gonzi is once again showing he is sensitive to the justifiable demands of public opinion only when it suits him: on the eve of an election.

Despite the government's attempt to depict the MLP's policy on the future of the shipyards as being partisan and against the national interest, Joseph Muscat's public interventions on the matter strike a balance between protecting the interest of hundreds of workers and their families and ensuring that taxpayers' money is used judiciously to promote productive economic activity. Many of the shipyard workers that now face a bleak future are in their mid-40s and, despite their undoubted skills base, it will always be difficult for them to find new employment.

The government is wrong in trying to give the impression that Labour is against privatisation. It was the Labour government of 1996 that started the privatisation process, which was then continued under the Nationalist Administration. What Labour was always vociferously promoting was that the interest of workers affected by the privatisation process should be safeguarded and that the sale process itself should be open to public scrutiny to ensure that the country's assets were not undersold. Surely it cannot be said that the PN government always alienated national assets in a judicious manner. Certain privatisation deals at best left much to be desired, especially insofar as the value of assets was concerned.

Likewise, with the privatisation of the docks, apart from the primary concern of the workers' future other issues come into play, among them the utilisation by the acquirer of the valuable real estate there , security issues, the future of the development of the port area and the capital investment to be committed to improve productivity. One hopes that the process would be transparent and all interested parties will be taken on board. In this respect, the General Workers' Union has a vital role to play.

The appeal by the MLP to deal with national issues in a bipartisan manner should not fall on deaf ears. Such appeal is being made primarily in the interest of the workers and their families. Nevertheless, as the MLP believes in the development and the bright future of the maritime industry in Malta, it would like to see this particular maritime industry develop and ride the wave of growth, which the maritime trade is experiencing.

The rushed decision to reduce the workforce substantially without even knowing what the plans of the prospective new owners of the shipyards are is, to say the least, strange, apart from being also irresponsible.Talking down the economic potential of the facilities at Malta Shipyards will, at this stage, put at risk the maximisation of the return that the government should be getting in the sale/alienation process.

The 1,700 workers at the shipyards are an important resource for this country and the callous attitude of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet that only want to discuss early retirement schemes for these workers with the GWU shows how shallow were the PN's pre-election promises.Lawrence Gonzi's commitment to eventually make a statement in Parliament on his government's crystallised plans for the privatisation of the shipyards is a mere formality to appease the anger of many thousands of Maltese people who resent being faced with a fait accompli by their politicians in matters that are of national interest.

The MLP will not be disheartened by this arrogant and foolish attitude. The interest of the families of these workers, and the national interest generally, will keep us on track in acting as a credible opposition that is loyal to the country. Now that the government is determined to go ahead with the sale of the shipyards without further consultation with interested parties, we must ensure that workers' rights are respected. This will be an important precedent that will in future impact on the destiny of workers employed in both private and public enterprises.

We value the workers' interest irrespective of who employs them. The social fabric of our society is enriched when workers accept both their rights and duties towards their employer and to society in general. The same principle will apply in the case of the shipyard workers. We will never allow the government to ride roughshod over the employees' and their families' rights.

I therefore appeal to the Prime Minister to desist from rolling over the interests of workers and to give a chance for consensus politics to work for the common good of our people. The MLP does not want to score political points on the issue of the shipyards but it will not remain silent when confronted by arrogance from a government that has promised so much but delivered so little in treating all the citizens of this country with equal respect and dignity.

Dr Mangion is Leader of the Opposition.

www.mangioncharles.com, cmangion@keyworld.net