Former Prime Minister George Borg Olivier. Photo: DOI

They were made redundant by the 1955 Mintoff administration, labelled the “ex-800” and promised a job by the Nationalist Party.

But on March 11, 1964, the minister for employment penned a Cabinet memorandum highlighting that although two years had passed since the PN came to power, no solution had yet been found for these former government workers.

“The PN had pledged in its electoral programme to do its best to reinstate the 800... it has been very difficult to give jobs to the 800,” the minister wrote.

‘The ex-800’, as they became known, were discharged by the Labour government in the first months after returning to power in 1955.

A report of the debate in the legislative assembly that appeared in Times of Malta on April 22, 1955, quoted then prime minister Dom Mintoff as saying the discharge of employees was “simply an administrative measure”.

It has been very difficult to give jobs to them

The government wanted to regularise a state of affairs that it blamed on the previous administration.

Mr Mintoff told the assembly that on assuming power he discovered that a number of people had been employed with the government before the election without going through the labour office and the employment board, as was customary.

The Labour administration resigned in 1958 when the Constitution was also suspended by the British colonial powers. Elections were eventually held in 1962 and the PN under George Borg Olivier was returned to power.

Two years later, the minister for work was concerned as few vacancies had opened up with the government and complete reinstatement was “almost impossible”.

But the memo gives a glimpse into the sort of difficulties created by political pledges that become tricky to implement when a party goes from being in Opposition to government.

The minister said that by the time the PN came to power in 1962, only around 30 from the group discharged were registered as unemployed.

However, he noted that in two years the number grew to 100.

This was partly attributed to the British services’ rundown – most of the ex-800 had found alternative jobs with the British services – and to a lesser extent the lack of business experienced by those who started working as self employed.

But the minister also hinted at a more sinister reason for the increase in unemployment: “They know that without registering at the labour office they cannot expect to be given a job.”

He also highlighted the belief among this group of workers that they had a right to obtain a government job.

“Those who have been lucky to have been given a job with private industries or individuals, still claim they have a right to obtain a government job,” the minister wrote.

While noting that four people were reinstated with impressed vehicles on a permanent basis, the minister said employment law did not empower him to give a job to somebody who did not enjoy priority according to the rules of the labour office.

He asked Cabinet for direction on the matter, including ways to give jobs to those registering for employment.

The minister also asked colleagues to consider whether the statement on financial estimates for the coming budgetary period should mention the 800.

But although the memo was submitted to Cabinet in March 1964, it was only discussed on October 13 of that same year.

Cabinet minutes revealed that ministers decided to change the employment law to appease those discharged in 1955 and who were still unemployed.

They also agreed to inform the minister for employment of all vacancies that may exist in government departments “so that appropriate action may be taken” to engage the ex-800.

But a telling note suggested that ministers were concerned that this action could also create a surplus pool of workers in government departments.

As a result Cabinet decided that government departments should draw on “surplus staff that may exist at the Public Works Department as a result of this exercise” for their labour requirements.

The Cabinet papers for the 1960s and 1970s were recently released by the government and are available for viewing at the National Archives in Rabat.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com