A Labour government would rectify all injustices in the public sector and people who were under-qualified will be replaced by someone who deserved the post, spokeswoman Helena Dalli said yesterday.

She said a Labour government would commission an audit to determine what needed to be done and to flag the mismanagement in the public sector. The replacements would take place through non-renewal of contracts and redeployment.

Ms Dalli, Labour spokeswoman on public administration, said a new Labour government will also ensure that the public service was run in an efficient, transparent and accountable way, giving due importance to “meritocracy”.

“The Labour Party understands the people’s expectations for justice in government-run authorities and departments and people who suffered injustices will be awarded what they deserve. The Labour Party in government will guarantee that justice is done,” she said.

Asked whether a structure would be created to oversee this process, Mrs Dalli replied that a press conference was not the right place to discuss structures.

“It is not something to discuss here. We are saying that we will see that whoever has the experience and the right training and qualifications will, through the proper channels, be given the position they deserve,” she said.

When pressed for details on how a Labour government plans to carry this out, Mrs Dalli replied: “We will cross that bridge when we come to it.”

She spoke at length about the situation at Transport Malta and the political appointments there, where, she said, unqualified people were being promoted to posts they did not deserve, while qualified employees were being removed unjustly from their positions.

She said there were employees who were left in offices doing nothing for weeks but could not specify how many people she was talking about. This, she said, amounted to “psychological violence”.

In contrast, she said, there were some employees who had been promoted twice in three months.

Mrs Dalli said some employees at Transport Malta were receiving a “responsibility allowance” of €630 a month, even though they had been removed from posts of responsibility.

She mentioned the appointment of “pensioners” as consultants with a phenomenal pay and how people with no qualifications were earning between €35,000 and €60,000 a year.

It was ironic, she said, that a recent call for applications for clerks included A Levels as a minimum requirement but then someone was chosen to head a section with only one O Level.

She claimed political discrimination and incompetence was rife within the authority.

Reacting to Mrs Dalli’s statements, the Nationalist Party said all this continued to confirm how Labour leader Joseph Muscat was planning to remove people he deemed not fit for the job.

It said that while Dr Muscat was silent on his policies and proposals, his spokesmen and spokeswomen were revealing his plans.