So the Palumbo shipyard employees have marched upon Castille seeking the protection of the Prime Minister. Their job is endangered they said. They want protection. They want the highest authorities in the land to intervene and ward off the forces that are threatening them.
The impression they gave was that if something was not done at once, Mr Palumbo might close the doors of the shipyard and yacht back to Calabria, leaving them jobless and destitute. It sounds like an awful prospect.
Except that this threat of impending economic doom was not posed by any competitor or a dip in the demand for the yard’s service. No. The cause of the Palumbo people’s irritation was a group of exhausted Senglea residents who hadn’t had a good night’s sleep for ages because of the constant din coming from the yard; even throughout the night.
The incessant noise made residents’ windows rattle. Closing them wasn’t enough to deaden the never-ending din. One sleep-deprived resident testified that she had to take medication to be able to cope. That underlines the desperation the residents felt.
After going through the usual avenues – the phone calls to the police station, the letters to the press, the usual nerve-wracking things – the residents felt they had no other option than to file a criminal complaint to initiate court proceedings.
At the time of going to print, the case is still at the stage where the residents are being grilled in court and being asked to locate where every decibel came from (as if it’s that easy – with all the ships anchored in the yard to which the residents have no access) and a conviction is not a sure thing.
That’s not the point though. The Palumbo workers who strode to Castille weren’t debating legal issues or noise levels. They were protesting against the residents’ rights to seek legal redress for an alleged breach of the laws regarding permissible noise levels.
The employees’ manifestation had nothing to do with legality and everything to do with punching home a message. It was quite a stark message at that.
In a nutshell it went something like this: “Let us do what we like. Palumbo’s profit is paramount”. As for the long-suffering residents – well – they were supposed to grin and bear it and stock up with ear plugs.
The enforcement of laws and regulations – which are important for the common good – is completely non-existent because it may affect the bottom line
Now this is not the first time the implied threat of job losses has been bandied about when employers are faced with having to abide by legal requirements.
Two years ago, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority had finally decided to do something about the multiple illegalities on Polidano’s Ħal Farruġ site and made a great show of going to start demolition works. Polidano rushed to court to prevent enforcement action from taking its course. Polidano Group employees who turned up for work the following day were told not to report for work until the court case was concluded.
Again – here was a spurious link being made – Polidano’s planning illegalities had to be condoned, otherwise his bottom line would suffer and workers would have to be fired. It is the implicit blackmail threat certain employers keep on making – using their own workers as pawns in the process.
More to the point, it works every time. Which of Polidano’s planning monstrosities have been demolished? How many fines have been imposed for operating an illegal zoo? The mere suggestion of mass firings seems to petrify our politicians and authorities into permitting all sorts of illegal behaviour.
Now, it stands to reason that a spike in unemployment figures is not desirable but if this is to be the only factor to be considered, we may just as well do away with the rule of law and allow a free-for-all.
If we are going to use the employer status as a ‘get out of jail free’ card then Polidano will continue to flout his planning breaches, Palumbo shipyards will continue grit blasting at all hours of day and night, industries will continue disturbing neighbours, polluting industries will belch out fumes unabated and planning breaches will abound.
Come to think of it, that is a pretty accurate description of the current situation. The enforcement of laws and regulations – which are important for the common good – is completely non-existent because it may affect the bottom line.
To date, this line of reasoning has not been challenged by the authorities, but now Maltese people are waking up to the fact that there is more to life than scrabbling for economic survival. As the Senglea residents are realising, health and quality of life issues are just as important as Palumbo’s profits. Hopefully so will the authorities.
cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt