Members of disciplined and similar forces in our country had for a long time been subject to injustices and an outright deprivation of their right to belong to a trade union. For years, we had been subjected to endless talk on the rights of these people who contribute so much on a daily basis, and yet did not have a truly representative body to speak up for them and ensure that they, such a vital component of the justice systems in our country, were not in their turn subjected to injustices.
Prior to entering into the subject in hand, namely the right of these workers to representation, it is worth highlighting where the current imbalance, indeed injustice, lies. The members of our armed, police, civil protection forces, correctional facility and detention officers are daily called upon to lay their lives on the line in various circumstances.
From delicate and risky search-and-rescue operations, the dangers of fire-fighting and the maintenance of law and order in whatever circumstance, these brave and dedicated men and women put themselves at risk in the line of duty.
Their uniforms bear testimony to the nature of the service they provide. The fact that they are service personnel should not, however, bar them from enjoying the most basic of rights in an employment situation.
They should not be punished for carrying out duties that are vital by being deprived the right of representation. That is the spirit and the reasoning which guided us in suggesting this correction of a long-standing unfair situation, an injustice that had been breeding further injustices in its own right.
From words we went to action, and in just over a year, we have made sure that the necessary changes to various relevant pieces of legislation were drafted and introduced, thus allowing members of disciplined forces to enrol in trade unions.
Article 67 A (1) of the Employment and Industrial Relations Act was introduced and reads: “A member of a disciplined force shall be entitled to be a member of a registered trade union of his choice.”
The changes to legislation involved amendments to a number of other laws, including the Police Act and the Civil Protection Act, in order to make sure that all laws are now harmonised and provide for the granting of this long overdue right.
There is no limitation based on the rank of individuals who wish to join the trade union of their choice. The trade union will be entitled to negotiate conditions of employment and to enter into any other negotiating procedure on behalf of the members of the disciplined force it represents.
However, in the drafting of the necessary changes, great care was taken to ensure that security concerns and considerations were given due importance.
As a result, the law has not given the trade union the right to take any other action as furtherance of a trade dispute. What this means is that striking is still not an option.
The introduction of this right for our soldiers, policemen and policewomen, correctional facility officers, detention officers and the members of our civil protection force, was an electoral promise which was endorsed by an overwhelming majority of the Maltese people in March 2013. It brings our country in line with what other European countries have done already.
Suffice it to mention, that around Europe, there are 43 trade unions representing members of police forces, together making up the European Council of Police Trade Unions, established in 1988.
For the first time, these members of the disciplined forces have a body which is allowed by law to represent them
In practice, this means that for the first time, these members of the disciplined forces have a body which is allowed by law to represent them. This adds in no small way to the dignity of the members of these forces at their place of work.
It also introduces a new level of check and balance, protecting against the possibility of injustices. Reference has here to be made to the large number of claims of injustices dealt with by the Board of Injustices set up within the Army, brought forward against actions taken by the previous administration. It is not surprising to note that most of these claims were found to be justified and are being granted remedy now.
This government was overwhelmingly voted into office mainly on the promise of fighting the discrimination which had become so rampant, and was in fact the order of the day.
This step removes yet another aspect of this discrimination, as while duly protecting the security and safety elements for which the disciplined forces are responsible, it grants these hard-working, dedicated and committed contributors of such a valuable service to our community, the right to representation which they truly deserve and which they have been denied for too long.
Manuel Mallia is Minister for Home Affairs and National Security.