Some days ago, the employees who work in the generation section of Enemalta were called to a meeting at which a former-Labour minister, today chairman of the company, Charles Mangion, was also present. In this meeting the workers were given four options.

First option: they can apply to work with Shangai Electric (which will be running the BWSC plant) and, if accepted, will be given a three-year contract.

Second option: apply to work with Shangai Electric in Europe also, if accepted, on a definite contract.

The third option: work with Electrogas, which will be running the LNG plant, again, on a definite contract.

The fourth and final option: they can stay with Enemalta but be given only day duties and, obviously, on basic pay as they will lose shift and other allowances.

Consider how the workers were deceived. Before the elections, in a meeting with Enemalta employees, Joseph Muscat had solemnly promised them that their take-home pay will remain the same. That promise has now gone with the wind. The same can be said for the promise that Enemalta will not be privatised.

Typical. Labour says one thing and does another. Meanwhile, the GWU is happy and satisfied. Shh... Don’t make a sound; you might wake the union up from its nap. Can you imagine what this same union would have done and said had such actions been taken before March 2013?

To add insult to injury, the Prime Minister has recently commented that he’s impressed with the work carried out in the energy sector during this past year. Obviously, because the trade union has become the doormat of the government and the workers have become the doormat of the union.

This is a secretive government. This week, I put the following parliamentary question to Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi: “As, on February 20, Times of Malta quoted you saying that ‘Consumers who used tampered smart meters are being given a six-week deadline to regularise their position or face the consequence’, can the minister tell us how many people have come forward and how are these distributed by locality?”

His answer referred me to a reply to another question in Parliament: “I inform the Hon. member that investigations by Enemalta and the police on this case are ongoing and, because of this, it would not be prudent to divulge more information.”

Honestly, I cannot understand how the information I asked for could hinder investigations. What police investigations if we had an admission in court that the government has instructed the police not to proceed against those who paid bribes to have their meters tampered with? As usual, Mizzi gave an answer that was no answer to the question put to him. This is what he always does or, as in the case of Enemalta workers, resort to deceit to hoodwink you – April 5.

The President

The end of an era is always the best time to analyse briefly what has gone by.

The presidency of George Abela has ended today. A presidency that was historical because Abela was, and still is, the only president nominated by a prime minister, in this case, Lawrence Gonzi, coming from the opposite political camp. A great example that, sadly, Muscat chose not to follow.

But, back to Abela’s presidency. I think I would be expressing a common sentiment when I say that he managed to engage people successfully. It was a popular presidency and, through it, Abela succeeded in his ambitious aim to raise funds regularly for the Community Chest Fund.

This does not mean that the presidency did not have its controversial moments. One could mention the Speech from the Throne, or the setting up of the centre for persons with nutrition-related problems, which entailed the involvement of a person from his own staff. There was also the issue of the president’s son speaking in a most partisan manner during the electoral campaign of the Labour Party.

These, however, do not lessen in any way the positive results of this presidency. Over the past five years, Abela has confirmed what I wrote when he was nominated, in 2009. Back then I had said: one can disagree with him on many things but he is a very humane person, moderate and rational.

The sense of family, the extended family forming part of a larger community, has been or is being lost

As head of state, Abela tried and succeeded, up to a point, to continue uniting the Maltese people. He demonstrated integrity when, towards the end, he decided that his conscience did not allow him to sign the Civil Unions Act, a law that goes beyond its original stated aim.

I salute Abela and his wife for the service they have given these past five years and thank him for hi s contribution.

The era of President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca is now starting.

We have voted in favour of her nomination in spite of the fact that no consultation had taken place with the leader of the Opposition and information was given to us after everybody knew about the nomination.

We voted in favour, in spite of the fact that the prime minister is going beyond what the Constution states and is willing to give the president an executive role.

The leader of the Opposition was right in saying that “every change carried out has to be reflected by changes in the Constitution”. We are ready to start discussing these changes but will not accept a fait accompli. The Opposition has voted in favour so that the presidency will belong to everybody.

I take this opportunity to wish the new president a successful term for the good of the people as a whole – April 4.

Family

Recently, I was in London and was struck by a poster I saw in the Tube. It was a poster of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and stated: “NSPCC’s childline service has seen a 33 per cent increase in young people contacting us about feeling suicidal.” An increase of 33 per cent! Really frightful. What is causing this?

I am afraid our life has become too hectic and we no longer find the time to spend with our children or, when we are with them, we hardly communicate. Often, we hardly try to do things together. We are living under the same roof but isolated in our separate rooms or in the same room but engrossed in our tablet or smartphone and paying no attention to each other.

Many children and youths are keeping their feelings blocked inside them and rarely express them or do so anonymously, with a virtual someone on the internet.

The sense of family, the extended family forming part of a larger community, has been or is being lost.

There is little or no contact with voluntary organisations that offer services to the community. It is through such contacts that we can understand that our problems are relative. Otherwise, every problem feels too heavy and we tend to give up.

But, more than anything, I believe that we parents have to assume our responsabilities and if we feel we are not up to it we need to get training in parental skills – April 3.

Water

The other week, I attended the closing event of the initiative ‘Investing in Water’, organised by the Malta Business Chamber, within the EU LIFE+ programme. It is impressive that this initiative managed to help businesses save 141 million litres of water. It is calculated that some establishments reduced their consumption by as much as 30 per cent, due also to the fact that they has started to collect and store rainwater.

This project is a very good example of the way that private enterprise can be effectively committed to reduce consumption while, at the same time, save on expenses.

Such initiatives are crucial if we want to achieve the goals of the National Plan for Water that we had prepared in 2011. Unfortunately, I have to note that, in spite of the fine words by this government, where water conservation is concerned, the momentum we had built upon has been considerably weakened.

We hear a lot of fine words but no action being taken. And, apparently, nobody questions anything – April 2.

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George Pullicino is a Nationalist MP.