Palumbo Shipyards has been treating Cottonera residents in an “unacceptable” manner and the government is ready to step in to mediate, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today.
Speaking during a political activity in Qormi, Dr Muscat hit out at Palumbo for using its workers as “shields” to hide behind.
Earlier this month, Palumbo workers held a protest outside Castille over a court case they said is endangering their jobs.
Dr Muscat expressed his “disappointment” in the way Palumbo has treated residents in the area.
“What Palumbo has done is not acceptable. They are free to act as a private company, I am not going into this. But I do not think it is acceptable to have a leading company to end up in a situation where it is fighting with residents,” Dr Muscat said.
The prime minister appealed to Palumbo to turnover a fresh page with Cottonera residents and review their decision.
He emphasised that the door for business “is always open”, but these businesses have to respect government standards and maintain good relations.
Judicial changes
Dr Muscat hit out at the “half-baked” proposals on judicial reform presented by the Opposition this week in parliament.
He explained the government is taking its time because it wants a “wider judicial reform,” which also encompasses a disciplinary system and a clear system of accountability.
The retirement age of members of the judiciary as well as their pensions will also be looked at, he said.
He denied that the government had breached the Constitution in its proposed appointment of two new magistrates.
Dr Muscat said it was the previous government that had breached the Constitution with the industrial tribunal law, as this week a constitutional court upheld a judgment presented last year by a judge who had ruled that the law which establishes Industrial Tribunal was unconstitutional.
No Zika in Malta
Dr Muscat also reassured that the Zika virus has not reached Malta.
He said the Maltese person being kept in isolation contracted the virus abroad and prevention measures put in place had worked as planned.
“The system worked so well that this person was identified and isolated. He was isolated so well that his family do not contract the virus, it was contained. This is because we have good health professionals and people with managerial skills, people who are up to the task in such an emergency,” Dr Muscat said.
Busuttil should apologise to people
Dr Muscat insisted that Opposition leader Simon Busuttil should apologise to people for trying to block the power station project by turning to the European Commission.
He said the commission has confirmed that the procurement process applied to the new power station did not breach EU rules.
“Just a few weeks ago Simon Busuttil send people to the EU Commission to try and place obstacles in the building of the new powers tation. The commission this week said it has investigated this matter and found not breach…
“Simon Busuttil should apologise to families and business for doing this. Simon Busuttil should admit that he made a mistake, this government did things properly,” Dr Muscat said.