Corporate social responsibility, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development says in its publication Making good business sense, is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large.
The owners, directors and management of Palumbo Shipyards should go through the publication very carefully. Their reaction just days ago to genuine complaints by Cottonera residents about noise and dust pollution leaves no doubt in anybody’s mind that they need a few lessons in CSR and good neighbourly relations. And they seem to have a track record too.
Three years ago, the mayors of Cospicua, Senglea and Vittoriosa had publicly called on Palumbo Shipyard to take all necessary precautions to ensure residents’ health and property were not jeopardised by works carried out there.
Fast forward three years and Senglea residents decided they had had enough of loud noise from works at Palumbo shipyard during the night. They reported the matter to the police and three people, including a Palumbo director, were taken to court.
All three were acquitted because while residents complained of noise coming from the shipyard, the police charges gave the source as being a tugboat in dock 5. That infuriated the residents but the worst was still to come.
Just days later, Palumbo, which officially took over the Malta Shipyards in June 2010 on a 30-year lease, instructed their legal counsel to write to Senglea residents threatening that their assets would be seized unless they covered the company’s court expenses. The lawyer insisted with this newspaper that the company had every right to sue and recover the damages it had sustained as a result of the residents’ complaints. He clearly overlooks the fact that people have rights too.
Palumbo’s reprehensible and arrogant behaviour not only angered the residents but the Prime Minister as well. He deplored the company’s “unacceptable” attitude, even criticising Palumbo for using its workers as “shields”.
It later transpired that the company had contacted the government saying it was willing to find a solution to the long-standing issues. The threat made earlier by their lawyer said otherwise.
The matter of noise pollution was raised in Parliament too where it resulted that monitoring falls within the remit of the Environment Health Directorate and the Occupational Health and Safety Authority.
When this newspaper approached the OHSA, its chief executive said inspectors had visited the shipyard “on several occasions” but would not give further details.
He did specify, however, that it was not the OHSA’s role to identify hazards and quantity risks.
Senglea residents can hardly be blamed if they feel “extremely disappointed and disempowered” that their health is of no consequence to anyone.
Have their pleas now finally been answered? The Prime Minister over the weekend announced that Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg had been given the role of mediator between Palumbo and the residents.
Today, this newspaper reveals that Mepa will be stepping up its monitoring of the blasting works at the shipyard.
The hope is residents will soon be able to sleep easy again. They need it.