A judge yesterday condemned the failure of every Maltese prime minister since 1970 to ratify a Cabinet decision that would have given former Malta Electricity Board staff pension rights similar to those enjoyed by government employees.

While doing so, the judge, nonetheless dismissed the employees’ request to implement the Cabinet decision, pointing out that more than 30 years had passed between the day the decision was made and the court case was filed.

Mr Justice Silvio Meli, sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court, delivered the judgment in a case filed by the former MEB employees against the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the (then) Minister of Investment, Industry and Information and Enemalta Corporation. The plaintiffs joined Enemalta when it took over MEB’s role.

In 1969, the Cabinet, led by George Borg Olivier, had decided that all MEB employees were to be awarded a pension on the same lines as that given to civil service employees. The decision was confirmed in March 1970.

However, the law provided that such a Cabinet decision had to be approved by the Prime Minister.

Yet, no prime minister had, to date, approved it and ratified it according to law.

This, the court said, was worthy of condemnation and was inexplicable.

Mr Justice Meli concluded that the Cabinet’s decision had given the employees an acquired right. However, the law also provided that no court case could be filed after the lapse of 30 years. In this case, the 30 years started running on the day the Cabinet made its decision in 1970.

The employees had filed their action in court in February 2005, which was well over the 30-year time limit. The court therefore found the action to be time barred and so dismissed the case.