John Bencini was appointed chairman of the Malta ­Council for Social and Economic Development over a year ago. Vanessa Macdonald asked him about his role and that of the council.

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Does the lack of real controversy and conflict mean you are not pressing hard enough on issues which matter?

When appointed, I knew it would not be an easy job. I was really astonished as how often we manage to reach consensus on issues, as this is very good for the country. But there are times when discussions get a bit hot and that is when the role of the chairman comes in: to try to defuse any problems.

We have been meeting twice a month on average – almost a record, I think – and we have tackled issues which could have prompted controversy.

In the past 16 months, we have discussed access to finance, justice reform, lifelong learning and competitiveness, to name but a few issues.

I made it a point to make MCESD more proactive. We need to give our opinion to government on a regular basis

We also had a few meetings on precarious work and all the social partners contributed towards a very positive discussion. We presented a memorandum to our minister, Helena Dalli, which was then discussed at government level. Of course, some ideas were not necessarily accepted by all the social partners but they all agreed that the vast majority of employers do not accept precarious work. However, they also all agree that the few who do blatantly abuse employees should be hit hard.

Has anything happened since you presented the report to Minister Dalli?

Minister Dalli has worked very hard on this. It was discussed at Cabinet level too. The government has already taken action and we expect more will be taken as Parliament approved some changes to the employment legislation.

Eyebrows were raised because the MCESD is meeting at the ministry. Could this give rise to conflict of interest?

We used to meet at different hotels which cost a lot of money. The ministry asked whether we could meet there to reduce costs. At the beginning there did not seem to be any objections and no one complained. But some social partners would have preferred if we could have continued to meet at hotels.

There is a risk that you could lose your independence – or ­perceived independence...

Malta is a small country and it does not mean that meeting at someone’s house means that the host has an advantage...

Your predecessor set up a system for reports to be prepared prior to discussions so there would be a more solid agenda. Are you keeping the same formula?

I made it a point to make MCESD more proactive. We need to give our opinion to government on a regular basis, not the other way round. We have to tell government what is worrying us – although the government is welcome to come to us when it has issues.

But yes, we want to do research first. But sound research requires money to pay researchers. No one will ever say that they have enough financing but I am convinced – because I have information to this effect – that the government is ready to increase our funding, which is currently €240,000 a year. We have five full-timers to pay out of that. We think the figure should go up by 40-50 per cent, if the MCESD is to make a valid contribution in line with its obligations under the law. But it is up to the government, which has its own priorities.

At the beginning of the year, we write to the social partners and ask what they want to discuss. I am also taking our consultant Joe Falzon and having meetings with the members to find out what their concerns are.

I also take private initiatives when I feel there is some subject that requires a bit of pressure.

We are a consultative body with no executive powers but the government should take heed of what we say. I think three-quarters of the government’s problems would be solved if they paid attention as MCESD’s members represent all of society.

We believe there is a real risk that poverty will rise

For example, the Prime Minister came to talk to us twice about the Individual Investor Programme, as the members were concerned. He subsequently said he thought the meetings should have preceded the original proposals as many problems and misconceptions could have been avoided.

Social dialogue works. Minister Dalli has made it her mission to ensure that our suggestions get to where should get and are not just left on a shelf.

There were calls before the MEP elections for more liaison with the social partners and the MCESD was suggested as the best forum.

We had a meeting with the MEP candidates before the elections and all agreed that we should not forget the intention to forge closer ties once the elections were over. We are now going to set appointments with the six elected MEPs.

But I am disappointed that we get so little feedback from the five Maltese representatives sitting on the European Economic and Social Committee of the EU. They forward us massive documents which are very effective at putting you to sleep. It is important that we get more effective feedback from them even though they spend so much time in Brussels.

A number of issues have cropped up repeatedly over the years, the most important of which are Cola, minimum wage and pensions...

In the past 16 months, there were no discussions on these issues although they will obviously crop up again. The government wants the minimum wage to stay as it is. The European Commission had problems with it but the government convinced them that we saw it differently. There is an indication from the employers that the cost of living should depend on productivity but the unions disagree.

On pensions, on the whole, there is consensus among social partners that mandatory occupational schemes should not be introduced. All agree, however, that youths are not getting into the discussion because they do not feel that time will catch up with them. Unless something is done now, within 20-30 years, pensions will certainly not be sustainable. We all agree that something has to be done. We just cannot agree what that something is.

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said at the recent Business Observer’s business breakfast that you cannot take pensions in isolation. For example, the female participation rate improved, so there are more women paying taxes and national contributions. More is being done to encourage those in their 20s and 30s to work, like free childcare. But we also need to look at those thousands who stay at home, especially the older ones.

If the participation rate improves drastically, then we might – I am not saying it definitely won’t but it ‘might – not need a mandatory occupational pension.

We are all worried – especially the unions – about current pensioners. There are people who are surviving on €500-€600 a month, even though it is now going up in line with the cost of living.

We believe there is a real risk that poverty will rise. There are people who are struggling and the numbers are now worrying.