Section 45 of the Constitution of Malta provides that “no law shall make any provision that is discriminatory either of itself or in its effect”.

Unfortunately, discriminatory treatment, that is, affording different treatment to different persons (or categories of persons), is only prohibited on grounds of race, place of origin, political opinions, colour, creed or sex.

While the European Social Charter provides that the enjoyment of rights shall be secured without discrimination on any ground, the Malta Constitution (which pre-dates the Charter) does not preclude unequivocally discrimination on grounds of age. The absence of rules prohibiting discrimination between different groups of elderly or retired persons has permitted the enactment of Chapter 280 of the Laws of Malta providing for very generous pension arrangements for ministers and MPs. The generosity lies in the fact that pensions are revised regularly to reflect changes in honoraria. If, say, a minister retired in 1981 with a salary of €12,500 and is still alive in 2012 his pension would be two-thirds of a minister’s current salary.

This contrasts with the capping of the Social Security pension at two-thirds of €17,418 for current pensioners. It also contrasts with the provisions of Chapter 93 (Treasury pensions to public servants) wherein a pension once given is never revised.

It has been reported that the Government is about to introduce a service pension for the judiciary similar to that for ministers, MPs and their spouses. While the need to strengthen the independence of the judiciary through making them financially independent is appreciated, is there any justification for creating further discrimination?

If the Government deems the measure it wants to introduce is justified, does it not think that the same principles should apply to all other public servants or retired public servants entitled to or in receipt of a pension in terms of Chapter 93 of the Laws of Malta? Or maybe it considers such individuals as children of a lesser god and so can be discriminated against very easily?

The National Association of Pensioners takes these developments very seriously and will consult members on actions to be taken to attain justice. It also expects all political parties to state where they stand on this issue well before election day.