Video: Unions report positive meeting with the PM

Joe Carabott

Nov 20th 2008, 09:45

PN apologists , Stop defending the PM . The consultation must had been before not after the decision was taken. Now we have a situation of total uncertanty in our country. Christmas is comming and the businesses are projecting low sales. This is because of Par idejn sodi who brought this uncertainty upon us. Now Praise him for this aswell

eric saliba

Nov 20th 2008, 08:41

@ ray gatt. Who told you that nato forces would have left Malta in 1974 had there been a PN govt? Fact is that ,notwithstanding independence, the brits had total control of the ports and airport and no one could enter without their permission. and for seven years after independence the top man in Malta was a British governor general!!
re investments.....remember all the german companies who invested in malta??
Re tourism....the war ended 20 years before and the tourists coming to malta were mostly brits and this bcoz they had a 50 pound limit imposed on them by their govt.
No mr gatt i was not one of the chosen ones who, like today for that matter, get the good, well-paid jobs !! i worked hard for what i have today but facts cannot be denied.
btw. i too wouldn't have minded staying at the savoy for three months waiting to be summoned when it pleased our colonial masters!!

Ray Gatt

Nov 19th 2008, 13:06

Eric Saliba - 'mintoff might have been more aggressive in his dealings with foreigners but malta was the end beneficiary!!!!' Mr. Saliba, could you elaborate and enlighten us on this sentence please.

Regarding the troops, they stayed over an extra 5 years.
In the 60ties, PN govts. started our tourism industry which at the time was zilg, even because it was so soon after world war 2.

As regards to having to wait 3 months at the Savoy, the whole point here is that Dr. Borg Olivier intelligently and patiently brought us independence in '64. With all his aggression and I know it all attitude, Mintoff was leading us into a communist regime type nation. Without independence, Malta could have never become a Republic. Western countries were taking their industrial investment elsewhere since we were getting too close to communism. Our closest allies were Iron Curtain countries, China, Korea, Libya and so on. We even had Col. Gaddafi addressing a meeting in Cospicua. And what about honouring dictator Ceascescu. Mintoff and KMB have the audacity to call themselves defenders of neutrality. Those were hard times Mr. Saliba for most of us, but not for the chosen ones. Where you?

eric saliba

Nov 19th 2008, 11:31

@ ray gatt. sorry but quite a few of the facts mentioned by you are wrong. the agreement signed by mintoff only allowed BRITISH troops to remain in malta till 1979. nato chief birindelli was kicked out in 1971.
re military corps etc. in the 'golden' sixties under a borg olivier admin the only option was emigration!!
re independence...of course the brits preferred dealing with borg olivier. can you imagine mintoff waiting for 3 months at the savoy hotel waiting for their highnesses to find time to speak with him?? mintoff might have been more aggressive in his dealings with foreigners but malta was the end beneficiary!!!!

eric saliba

Nov 19th 2008, 11:17

@ joe vella. if you don't know about the serious proposals put forward by joseph muscat it means that besides wearing blinkers you also have your ears covered.
eg ...the different night/day tariff that minister fenech said is already in place and the day after he said we need new meters !!! the fact remains that 20 years of inefficiency at enemalta under a PN govt, and the last years under PM2 gatt, were a total financial flop. deny this if you can!!

Ray Gatt

Nov 19th 2008, 10:12

@ I Galea - you never seize to amaze me. Mintoff wanted integration. Nato forces were suppose to leave in 1974. It was MIntoff who kept them here an extra five years. I'm sure the Brits gave us Independence because they were so afraid of Mr. Mintoff!!! They agreed Independence with Dr. Borg Olivier because he DIALOGUED and not confronted. We all know Mr. Mintoff loved a fight. Just like he fought with Western countries and got close to the Eastern ones. He even named them Cain europe and Abel europe. As for wage increases, what increases are you writing about. What we got in those days where unproductive jobs in military corps which paid miserably and you know it. We had youngsters with certificates and diplomas who where digging trenches for Lm10 a week. Then the ones with red tendencies, where given jobs with Air Malta, Enemalta, Maltacom and so on. Unemployment in those days was close to 20,000 and instead of going to the labour office to find a job in those days you had to go to a ministry and wait behind a qeue to talk to a minister's representative (canvasser) and plead for a job.

Ray Gatt

Nov 19th 2008, 09:27

PN is the party that brought dialogue in this country. Back in the 70ies and 80ies, when from opposition Dr. Fenech Adami used to mention the word DJALOGU, the socialists, labour, mintoffians, call them whatever you like used to take the mickey out of the word. Dr. Gonzi or any other PN leader never said there's no place for dialogue. If anything they always encouraged the different institutuions in this country to come up with their proposals, decent proposals. This does not mean that each and every proposal is met positively from the other side. I ask, why did the unions come up with these proposals now? Pre budget discussions started long time before. Let's hope a solution is round the corner, even though I doubt it very much that the GWU would stop there just for the sake of disrupting progress. Just like the SOCIAL PACT.

Before the elections they were saying that only Dr. Gonzi was representing the PN in all the activities. Now that Dr. Gatt together with the PM is showing his determination to bring this country where it belongs, Dr. Muscat and his parrots are saying that we have 2 PMs.

fredmallia

Nov 18th 2008, 22:06

dear george are you living in malta or you are living in limbo. what type of democracy we living? just cosmetic democracy!

lgalea

Nov 18th 2008, 21:52

George Cremona
PN betrayed us to the eu.
It always wanted Malta to be under foreign rule.
First they wanted Malta to be under Italy.
Then they wanted Malta to be the colony of the eu.
That amounts to a betrayal of Malta and the Maltese people.

It did not achieve independence because it fought for it because it only wanted a Dominion Status for Malta, but independence was given by the British Government to the Nationalist Government because the British Government knew what a hard and able negotiator Mintoff was as evidenced by the later renegotiation of the defence agreement and he would have got much better conditions for Malta than the Nationalist Government.

J Busuttil
We always got a lot more wage increases during Mintoff's Government than we ever got from the PN Governments

A Mangion
Which one? PM1 or PM2? Or none of them?

michael fenech

Nov 18th 2008, 21:26

@ manuel Mifsud

If this was a MLP government, the PN apologists would have call this a U-TRUN. But with Gonzi having no choice in the matter to make a U-TURN because everybody is against the tariffs it's GREAT

Denis Catania

Nov 18th 2008, 21:25

One simple solution, buy 2 years worth of oil for the current price of $56 a barrel and hedge it with the $150 WenzuPN spent for one year worth of gas. Unless he is trying to make up for other shortfalls, using the petrol and utilities prices and tariffs.

Joe Vella

Nov 18th 2008, 21:21

What is clear by now is that the MLP can be characterises as "the blind leading the blind."

Joe Vella

Nov 18th 2008, 21:18

@ Eric Saliba

Can you tell me what proposals did Joseph Muscat put forward in his budget speach inregards to the electricity and water tariffs.

Please do not make me laugh and mention the so called proposals that some have been in practice for the last TWENTY YEARS.

Joe Vella

Nov 18th 2008, 21:14

@ effie carbonaro

The country doesn't have money, from your post I presume you were refering to the Maltese public. And yet for instance record number of Maltese continue to go abroad on holidays.

m farrugia

Nov 18th 2008, 21:13

Ample proof that the PM believes in what he says"flimkien kollox possibli". We have a PM who is probably one of the few PMs in the world who finds time to read and answer emails sent to him by the public, he will surely be willing to listen to unions.

Joe Vella

Nov 18th 2008, 21:00

@ g. c. forte

If the PN all it did was bursting the Maltese kitty as you claim, Malta wouldn't had been accepted in the EURO Zone. So take you BS somewhere else

Joe Vella

Nov 18th 2008, 20:52

@ Andrew Cumbo

To be exactly the Prime Minister said that the Unions have choosen Theatrics over discussion. The Prime Minister was always open for talks, and never said that he won't meet.

In regards to history, To bad that the GWU didn't do the same in 1997. At That time there was no consultations at all.

J. Abela

Nov 18th 2008, 20:13

well done unions. good job!. A step further let see the outcome...

GBorg

Nov 18th 2008, 20:03

Quote: "The proposals, they said, would not mean going back to the former tariffs position, but they were based on social justice and would not unduly burden households." Unquote.

The above should be the principles of social justice which are to be applied for various situations such as:
Low salaried workers/Pensioners should be protected.
Households providing sterling service such as caring for the old and sick or foster caring services.
Similar tariffs as those applied to households , are to be applied for garages not connected to the owners' residences , but are being used for the the same domestic end-use.
Gozitan students who study and live in Malta.

I could go on and on but since the buck always stops on the salaried worker, at least he does not need to be nearly choked to death.

Recession effects are not on the horizon anymore. GRTU is saying business is bad.

So if we are moving to a new phase in the payment for certain services, do we need all this drama? Can the government adopt a rational non-confrontional attitude from the beginning?

Is this still The Government of Dialogue??

Rita Spiteri

Nov 18th 2008, 19:57

Sometimes I don't believe how some people are so gullible,it seems from the comments that I'm reading here that they believe every bla bla bla bla bla that their party says.

g.c.Forte

Nov 18th 2008, 19:41

@ all P.N. supporters........The more you try to praise the P.M. the more it seems the split in the government`s decisions. Dr. A Gatt `alias the Prim Minister` said that there is NO turning back, and as from the first of last October, Minister "know it all" Tonio Fenech said "no retreat no surrender"
The Prime Minister ??? calling the unions theatrics, then calling a meeting with them. "Hawwadni ha nifhem " May I ask a very important question : Why Dr Gatt and Tonio Fenech wasnt` invited? All in all it is nothing than a BIG ` U TURN`

Albert Gauci Cunningham

Nov 18th 2008, 19:38

.........this is positive news indeed but before we take a breath and say Amen to this saga I'd rather wait for the government's reaction to these nine proposals!!

Still this whole sorry mess whether over or not has exposed the PN to justified criticism from all corners, it has shown that the "mighty" PN does make mistakes and huge ones too and never seems to learn the lesson that the electorate should not be taken with a pinch of salt! This saga has turned the PN into what Labour was in 1997---arrogant, abrasive, socially unjust and with "no boxxla socjali" in the eyes of thousands of voters in the street! This issue has thrown the government into a conundrum of contradictions and PR disasters and it is going to take very long for people like me to trust these people again!!

Trust, like Rome, was never built in a day!!

Quo Vadis PN????

NOEL DARMANIN

Nov 18th 2008, 18:54

GEORGE CREMONA, PN HUWA PARTIT TAL WEGHDI LI MA JZOMMX KELMTU

f sultana

Nov 18th 2008, 18:48

@ Andrew Cumbo... HISTORY (as you call it) could have been made several years ago..but thanks to GWU it never happened (b4)... because at Castille there was an MLP leader

eric saliba

Nov 18th 2008, 18:40

@ a mangion. a few days ago PM 1 called the demonstrations 'tejatrin'. now it's democracy in action!!
which is it exactly. the unions have made gonzipn see common sense.
and no, no matter how much you wish it, the 'privilegjata' will not give 'gambetti'.
maybe a bloody nose??

John Saliba

Nov 18th 2008, 18:38

So the 20 Unions did exactly what the GWU did with regards to the Shipyards... they protested, they marched and then they agreed to sit around the table with the Government. Does anybody want to guess the outcome? It will be identical to the Shipyards story. They came, they saw, they listened and Dr. Gonzi conquered. Thank God, Dr. Gonzi is Prime Minister. Again he was able to make the protesters see the light. In the Shipyards issue all agreed with the proposed privatization and with early retirement. In this case, all have already admitted that people will, repeat will pay for their consumption. The Unions confiremed that their proposals did not mean going back to the former tariffs position. Like Saul, the union officals had to fall off their high horses before they saw the light. Well done Dr. Gonzi. By the way, what has baby Joseph have to say about the Unions' U-turn?

Andrew Cumbo

Nov 18th 2008, 18:26

It was History that all Unions united together that made Prime Minister Gonzi to meet with the Unions this afternoon. Whatever you say this is the truth. By the way, if the two protests held, were theatrics (as said by Prime Minister Gonzi) why he wasted time to meet with Union representatives this afternoon?

George Cremona

Nov 18th 2008, 18:16

PN always goes, whether in Opposition or in Government, for what is right. PN had always from its very birth fought for what is right. PN never and never betrays what is right even if that would mean for it to go through great sacrifices. It did exactly this during its first years of existence, it did this in 1964 when it acquired Independence. It did this throughout 1970's and 1980's by struggling against the Socialist regime to defend democracy. It did this in 2003 when we joined EU. It did this on the very first day of this year by joining in the Euro zone and it is again doing this today by leading the Maltese and Gozitans with a solid and strong but handsome and friendly pair of hands.

g.c.Forte

Nov 18th 2008, 18:14

@ A.Mangion.... Don`t count the chicks before they hatch.So far nine proposals was given to the P.M. for considerations.Although I don`t have the slightest idea what are these proposals, I bet that two of them will be accepted, it is all a game after all: it is called " politics". I am sure that it is going to have a happy ending....................but not for us the citizens,because one way or another we HAVE to pay for the bursting of the maltese kitty for these last 20 years from the P.N`s governments, especially before the last election, because everybody ( including the P.N.)gave a 100% win to the M.L.P. so the P.N. wanted to create a financial problem. But now "Min xarrab il bakkaljaw mhux ser jieklu wahdu, imma kullhadd" The ironic thing is that we all have to pay, even that nearly half of the voters didn`t wanted this government

Cedric Busuttil

Nov 18th 2008, 18:08

Well done uniouns for the pressure and well done Gonzi for being open to discussions. Well done also for showing that you have guts to go back on your word when necessary.
I'm now once more proud of my voting decision.
Well done all!

Joseph Galea

Nov 18th 2008, 18:00

Democracy at its best
the right to organise a protest
the right to voice one's opinion
a PM (Gonzi) that listens to the above and react
Proud to be here
well done the unions, Dr jsoeph Muscat
well done the maltese people
very well done Dr Gonzi
change? yes we can
joe the plumber

J Busuttil

Nov 18th 2008, 17:53

The difference has come out between a PN government and a Labour Government. Under a Mintoff/Alfred sant Government the Unions demonstrated but were left in the dark and fought on to destroy them(the unions) and Under a PN government the Unions demonstrated and they were meet By PRIME MINISTER GONZI to find a justifible solution. Well done GONZIPN.

G Mamgion

Nov 18th 2008, 17:46

@ Peter Camilleri - Now is the time to defeat the government
You and your buddies had 20 years to deafet the P.N in Power !!
Can you specify why you said NOW ??
Day dreaming is unheathy !!!
my friend,let's hope the Privilegjata won't harm Malta and no Gambetti for the outcome of this dispute.

Manuel Mifsud

Nov 18th 2008, 17:45

@Mario Mifsud

You stated that were it not for last week's protests the PM wouldn't have met with the unions. You're not correct! The PM also met Mr Farrugia of GRTU and, as far as I know, he did not take part in the union's protest. This is what happens in a democratic country like ours. Protests, arguments, discussions etc., What is important is the end result. Our PM is on record as a person most capable of reaching an agreement at the right moment.

martin saliba

Nov 18th 2008, 17:41

Page 2.

What i can never understan is why there are people that go to any measure to defend the actions of their preffered party in goverment. This goes for labour supporters & Nationalist suppoerters both. Personally , for those who might try and put me down, i am a labour supporter but unlike many i have no problem critising the party and / or the leadership as i have done neumerous times on these pages in the past. I suppose what i really want to say is , think about your pockets and not of those who are laeding you by the nose.Meta ma ikollox hadd mu ha igibulek shun!!

martin saliba

Nov 18th 2008, 17:40

Page 1.

To all of you that think that the PM is going to revise the tariffs just because he sat at a table with the unions , or that he has had a vhange of heart , are in my opinion very wrong. I have said from day one of the budget that this is a game. Like when you want to sell a car. You want 5000 Euros for it but ask for 5500. The buyer would think that he saved 500 Euros when in fact he was going to be ripped off 500 Euros. It has allready happened last week when the revised tariffs for cars was announced.
Can one really belive that the Gov. didn't allready know that there were many famillies who had old marinas and the like who were going to pay more in tax than what the car is worth?
Either that or no assesment was undertaken to really know what kind of impact any rise in taxes would effect the man in the street especially those with minimun wages.

effie carbonaro

Nov 18th 2008, 17:39

@karl abela
to 'Finanzi fis-sod' first you have to have money which at the moment this country dosnt seem to have due to the quantity of taxes,tariffs ,vats etc etc that the pn is taking from the people to balance the great financial defecit this country have ever seen.

Christopher Micallef

Nov 18th 2008, 17:34

@ A. Mangion
I agree with you (well almost) - the country needs dialogue and not arrogant imposition as exemplified by PM No.2 Austin Gatt or the up and coming know-it-all Tonio Fenech. And yes it's good to have a Prime Minister who finally sees the light and admits his mistakes. And thumbs up to all the Unions for putting pressure on the government to restart the dialogue and, hopefully, to accept to budge from its intransigence.

eric saliba

Nov 18th 2008, 17:33

@ karl abela. all the people who saw joseph's reply to the budget speech and gonzi's poor reply know who failed and who was telling the truth.........and giving proposals.
and it's not the first time we've seen PM1 saying one thing and PM2 saying the opposite. and we know who got his way!!

Manuel Mifsud

Nov 18th 2008, 17:27

How about some positive comments from the various opposition spinners. They jump into every arena attacking any mosquito that comes their way! Can you post some serious comments on such a positive news item?

eric saliba

Nov 18th 2008, 17:26

@ a mangion. if we had a PM who listened we wouldn't have had to take to the streets last friday. now i just hope the other PM2 doesn't spoil any agreement that might be reached.

Karl Abela

Nov 18th 2008, 17:14

@ Peter Camilleri

If you study Malta's economy well you will see that by contrast to other countries we are truly one of the few countries with the strongest ship in this big international storm. THAT is how you calculate and understand 'Finanzi fis-sod'...but of course if Peter Camilleri decided to only here Alfred Sants version of the Finanzi fis-sod issue then I dont blame him for misinterpreting the phrase.

@ M. Farrugia

Overpowering each other is only a tradition that takes place within the MLP itself. The PN is cleverer than that by seeking to work together towards the benefit of the country rather than massacre each other.

Its a pity that you are being fed arguments such as having 2 prime ministers by the MLP leaders. For a moment we felt relieved that Muscat would bring a new wave of politics towards MLP and their supporters, but it seems that Muscat has failed in this first biggest promise.

John Caruana

Nov 18th 2008, 17:03

To all who posted a comment. Possible it crossed no one's mind that this just is a game!!!! The unions and the PM now look like heroes. But are they or was it a question of giving each other a hand to look good!!!

mario mifsud

Nov 18th 2008, 16:57

Has it occured to you that the PM and the other PM should have come up with good solutions themselves, instead to waiting for proposals from unions. It is them that are running the country not the unions. If they are incapable to do so maybe they should step down.
Another thing, let us hope that PM2 does not contradict PM1 again!

As for the protests ..if it were not for last week's protests the PM would not have accepted to meet the unions in the first place ..

Peter Camilleri

Nov 18th 2008, 16:55

Now is the time to defeat the government Perit. I did not vote for the Government, but those who did should be disappointed......'FINANZI FIS- SOD'.

Andrew Camilleri

Nov 18th 2008, 16:51

To protest iseveryone's right. Most probably if there were no protests no dialogue would have taken place. Ultimately the aim of a protest it to make government realise that he cannot do away with dialodgue.

M Farrugia

Nov 18th 2008, 16:50

It is a pity we have another Prime Minister - Austin Gatt - who does not listen.

We wouldn't have dragged with this issue as far.

Will Gonzi overpower Gatt? Still to be seen.

S Micallef

Nov 18th 2008, 16:40

Indeed a Prime Minister that listens. Far away are the days when students had to protest for a whole week in order to have their stipends turned into loans…..without even being given the chance to be listened.

It’s high time that unions do propose and not just grumble.

A Mangion

Nov 18th 2008, 16:29

That's what this country needs. Dialogue not protests. Its good to have a PM who listens and consult. Thumps up to Gonzi!!