Many readers have surely read or followed stories in the media about European or American multinationals which wreak havoc in African or Asian countries, extracting resources such as oil, metals or precious metals. We have all heard of multinationals moving to countries where cheap labour and desperate people ready to do anything to survive are in abundance, where low standards and a disregard to people and their environment is what these countries can offer as their competitive advantage.
Some say that in Malta we also followed the same model, maybe with less drastic and visible ill-effects.
One of the main reasons for Alternattiva Demokratika’s support for EU accession was, and still is, higher standards coupled with a better quality of life for all residents of our country.
Others, I’m sure, only followed the diktats of their party leader – whether in favour or against – since the tribal mentality was and still holds strong, and the unquestioning herds are still very large.
It is indeed ironic that the Palumbo and grit-blasting issue had to raise its head six years into EU membership. It is also symptomatic of the lap-dog mentality that pervades the corridors of power that nobody from the country’s executive – starting from Lawrence Gonzi – has told Palumbo’s CEO that threats and blackmail are completely unacceptable.
Palumbo’s statement, that it would pull out of Malta if it was not allowed to carry out grit-blasting, is reminiscent of colonialists who raped and pillaged whole countries and expected the “natives” to be grateful for the crumbs and trinkets graciously conceded by the colonialists.
Rules are there to be followed and if our country’s institutions and society do not want to carry the social and environmental costs which Palumbo is dumping on us all, then Palumbo has no place here. The statement by Palumbo’s CEO, that the only possible method to strip ships of old paint is grit-blasting in the open, is misleading and wrong. There are a variety of options, from enclosing ships in temporary tent-like structures to other methods to strip paint.
Palumbo know this but since they seem to have been given the impression by the government that they have a carte-blanche to do whatever they want in this country, they have gone for the cheapest and dirtiest option. Great, we have donated the shipyard at a huge discount to a company with a concept of competiveness based on a disregard of people and their environment. The Prime Minister’s words, that the environment is a pillar of his government’s policies, have long been dismissed by those who know the real meaning of the word. Palumbo has grit-blasted away the remains of that pillar.
Will the government back down and order the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to reverse its decision to stop grit-blasting? Will Nationalist pundits bring up a myriad of excuses using jobs as an excuse for the government’s failure to rein in cowboy companies? Will Labour remain silent for fear of being accused of threatening the livelihood of Palumbo employees? It is obvious that workers are once again being used as pawns by a company which refuses to invest in modern technology and expects to get away with polluting our sea and air. I will not mince my words: the government should stand its ground and tell Palumbo where to get off. Failure to do so will mean that democracy is just a buzzword. Probably some bungled and unsatisfactory compromise will be reached. Well, we all get what we voted for at the end of the day.
http://ralphcassar.wordpress.com
Mr Cassar is secretary general and spokesman for energy, industry and transport for Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party.