The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry recently reviewed the comprehensive document published by the Malta Employers’ Association entitled ‘Proposed amendments to the Employment & Industrial Relations Act 2002 (EIRA)’.

The document is indeed far-reaching and proposes important amendments to the EIRA which, in some cases, are long overdue.

It delves into sensitive and topical matters that affect the country’s competitive business environment such as union recognition, the right to strike, the functioning of the Industrial Tribunal, maternity, vacation and sick leave entitlement, retirement age, redundancies, notice periods, overtime and the COLA mechanism.

The Chamber is generally in agreement with the contents of the document, save for a few exceptions where it would propose slightly different solutions to the same issues identified by the MEA.

It is disappointed that the contents of the report were overshadowed in the media because of a single proposal stating that self-inflicted sickness should not be eligible for sick leave.

The Chamber attributes this to the manner in which this proposal was presented, raising more questions than answers.

The education system needs to create a generation of young people who are in love with what they do

The issue for employers is with finding lasting solutions to sick leave abuse rather than attempting to classify whether sickness is self-inflicted or otherwise.

The Chamber believes that awareness and education are key in this respect.

It is convinced that other employer bodies and trade unions would agree that the local education system needs to be reformed in such a way as to instil the right aptitude and attitude in our youngsters and reverse the current trend wherein people choose to rely on social benefits rather than perform certain jobs or simply choose not to work at all.

Meanwhile, a complementary campaign needs to be undertaken to restore pride and professionalism in a host of jobs and careers that are nowadays being frowned upon by Maltese workers.

The education system needs to create a generation of young people who are in love with what they do.

This can be achieved through proper career guidance, apprenticeship and internship schemes.

If offered the right conditions, employers and students can benefit from internship schemes that benefit both sides, especially since a bond can be created between the student and the workplace very early in the student’s life.

When people love their job, they are at work and not finding excuses to remain home, or, as Steve Jobs put it: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

The document makes reference to the fact that legislation was enacted in 2013 permitting members of Parliament to be appointed chairpersons of government-owned entities, citing that this gives rise to a conflict of interest.

The MEA further recommended solving this conflict by barring any other entity (including the House of Representatives) from overriding the Tribunal or its decisions.

The Chamber, on the other hand, believes that the principle of the separation of powers is fundamental and that the House of Representatives, as the highest policymaking body in the country, should retain its present overriding authority on awards or decisions made by the Tribunal.

It proposes to solve the arising conflict of interest by reversing the 2013 decision allowing MPs to be appointed to chair boards of public entities.

On the subject of COLA, the Chamber notes that the MEA is also in favour of revising the formula to incorporate an element of productivity besides inflation.

Beyond the formula itself, the Chamber believes it is clear that the COLA mechanism in general needs to be revised to serve the economy better in all scenarios.

The European Commission continues to share these views in its latest assessment of Malta’s national reform and stability programmes.

In its June 2014 report, the Commission stated “reforms to the [COLA] mechanism to limit its potentially negative impact on competitiveness through a misalignment between wage and productivity developments continue to be subject of debates among social partners but no policy steps have been taken yet”. Besides the change in the formula, the Chamber insists on the urgent need for a clear definition of the term ‘exceptional circumstances’, which is already contemplated in the law.

The definition, however, was never made, despite attempts made within an MCESD working group in 2010.

This working group considered four criteria which, if met, would allow an automatic triggering of mitigating factors for COLA, should the need arise.

Consequently, the Chamber deems it urgent and appropriate for discussions on this matter to be resumed at MCESD level in an attempt to resolve this sensitive, self-inflicted bottleneck once and for all.

In conclusion, it is clear that there is a lot of common ground between employer bodies and, indeed, between the wider social partnership on sensitive matters that have been allowed to stall economic progress for many years.

The Chamber deems it is high time for renewed attempts to be sought via technical working groups of the MCESD or other fora with a view to safeguard national competitiveness.

In this manner, social partners would ensure maximum contribution to the country’s economic and social development.

David Curmi is president of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry.