Update 2: Opposition demands Fenech's resignation, tells PM to 'forget pairing'

Updated to add Finance Ministry's reaction on ST Microelectronics

Labour leader Joseph Muscat told the Prime Minister today to 'forget pairing' following his decision to change the parliamentary timetable and the voting system in the House.

Speaking at the end of the PL's annual general conference this afternoon, he also referred to recent layoffs and said the Opposition would back any government measures to safeguard jobs. The Opposition, however, expected the Finance Minister to resign in view of comments he gave to The Times less than 24 hours before layoffs at ST were announced.

Dr Muscat said that in view of the growing number of layoffs, the PL was calling for the mandatory and immediate introduction of a moratorium on loan repayments by workers who lost their job. It was also calling for incentives for employers to engage workers who were made redundant.

Dr Muscat said the Opposition would also back any government measures to safeguard jobs. It would also back government talks with ST Microelectronics on the future of jobs in that company.

However the opposition was calling for the resignation of Finance Minister Tonio Fenech following his comments to The Times that there were no plans for layoffs at ST – less than 24 hours before major job cuts were announced.

Dr Muscat said that Labour had, for the past months, been careful what it said about ST Microelectronics. He recalled that as soon as he was elected party leader, he had invited the government to form a national front on ST. His call was rebuffed by the government.

Despite the worsening situation, the PL continued to keep silent. The breaking point, however, was last week’s story in The Times carrying Mr Fenech’s comments. Since Mr Fenech had been directly involved in what was happening in the case of ST, the way he spoke and acted undermined the credibility of the country, Dr Muscat said.

In his long speech Dr Muscat also urged the government to take measures to boost the economy, including tax cuts and productive investment in partnership with the private sector.

The Labour leader kept up his attack on the utility tariffs. He said that the market price of refined oil between June and now had dropped some 60% but the government had said it would buy its next consignment with a difference of 30%. Who was taking such decisions?

Dr Muscat said he believed the trade unions, rather than the ‘sleeping regulator’ (the Malta Resources Authority) on what took place at their meeting last Friday, and the unions’ call for the bills not to be paid was therefore the right one.

Referring to the procedural motion due to be debated in Parliament tomorrow changing the timetable of sittings and voting times, Dr Muscat said the Opposition had serious doubts on the legality of this measure. But more than anything else, this motion reflected arrogance.

The Opposition’s reply was a clear one: “Dr Gonzi can forget pairing” Dr Muscat said to a standing ovation. (In terms of pairing arrangements, Opposition MPs are 'paired' to ministers and do not vote when ministers are away on official business).

Dr Muscat referred to the select committee talks on democratic change and insisted on progress. He said the PL would back a new system for voting in Maltese embassies in the case of Maltese working abroad who were registered as taxpayers in Malta. The party, however, wanted ID cards to be renewed without undue delay, and it wanted this process to remain in the hands of the Commissioner of Police.

The party, he added, was also renewing its call for a law on party funding.

Earlier in his speech, Dr Muscat said the state should compensate motorists whose cars were damaged because of the disastrous state of the roads.

The Labour leader also referred to the controversy over the banning of a play – Stitching – by the Board of Classification, and said that gone was the time when somebody could dictate which play should be staged, and which should not.

Dr Muscat spoke at length on what the Labour Party stood for and what it wanted for the country. He said that this party which took tough decisions for society in the past should not be afraid of continuing to do so. PN Deputy leader Tonio Borg had made shocking statements on his views on minorities, he said. The PL believed that what the people did in their homes was private, and it would respect that privacy. The PL should also not, however, be afraid of introducing those civil rights which society was demanding.

He insisted that access to education, justice and health should be equal to all, whoever they were. And the country should make available all possible and ethical means to enable childless couples to conceive.

The PL, he said, expected a Constitution which was appropriate for a modern EU-member state.

It expected effective regulatory authorities, and a government which led by example in consumer affairs. People needed to get what they paid for. Taxpayers needed to be compensated when their cars were damaged by the roads. Consumers should get what they were promised.

Similarly, if hunters and trappers were promised something, the government should not try to back out of that promise.

FINANCE MINISTRY'S REACTION

The Finance Ministry in a reaction to sections of Dr Muscat's speech, said that the process for the privatisation of Malta Shipyards was continuing, and as Dr Muscat should know, potential investors had up to February 12 to submit their offer.

As for taxation, Dr Muscat should also know that income tax had been reduced, as workers who had just received their pay could testify. This was the third tax cut in as many years.

The ministry also pointed out that this year the government had launched one of its biggest ever programmes to encourage production and research.

Referring to ST, the Finance Ministry said it was ‘scandalous’ that Dr Muscat was trying to ‘profit’ from the difficult international situation of ST Microelectronics. The workers deserved better.

The ministry said that the minister’s comments to The Times had been misinterpreted by Dr Muscat, who had tried to give the impression that Mr Fenech had given some guarantee that there would not be job losses.

But what the minister had said was that: ‘The government is not aware of any plans for mass redundancies at ST Microelectronics’.

The government was never informed that ST would immediately take a decision to reduce its workforce. The minister’s comments were consistent with what the government knew up to that time.

On the following day, after learning of the job losses worldwide, the government made fresh contacts with ST and the GWU.

The ministry said the government remained committed to safeguarding jobs and attracting more job-creating investment so that should any jobs be lost, they could quickly be substituted by others.

Furthermore, it was worth recalling that when there were major redundancies from manufacturing industry in the past, the government had immediately asked the local banks to give a moratorium on house loan repayments by unemployed workers.

The ministry urged the opposition not to discourage the workers, but to encourage them to maintain their productivity, in their best interest.