The industrial tribunal should be led by a magistrate or judge, experts have stressed as they called for an urgent overhaul in the law after the tribunal stopped hearing disputes on February 12.

There are 577 pending cases before the tribunal, the oldest dating to 2003.

In February, a court of appeal upheld a judgment from a ruling last year that the composition of the industrial tribunal was unconstitutional, as it did not guarantee independence and impartiality.

Addressing a seminar on conflict resolution and industrial relations organised by the Malta Employers’ Association and Forum Unions Maltin, Forum president Kevin Bonello said the industrial tribunal was a source of confusion for unions. He flagged the inconsistency of cases, where similar cases of alleged discrimination were given markedly different verdicts, and condemned the “frustrating” length of time taken to decide cases.

Lawyer Andrew Borg Cardona lambasted the industrial tribunal, criticising its chairpersons for not driving the cases forward and lawyers who, he admitted, were in no hurry to conclude the cases because the fees they were paid were “rubbish”. There needed to be top and bottom capping, he said, adding that while one chairperson may award €20,000 in compensation, another had no qualms thinking that €1,000 was “big money”.

“If the amendments go through as proposed by the government, then there is absolutely no change,” Dr Borg Cardona said. “If the tribunal continues to be made up of amateurs – meaning that they have no security of tenure – the problem remains exactly the same and the lack of consistency and of professionalism will persist.

“We need a single employment court. And the Minister says that it will take too long to set up; she has known of the problem since last June and should have been here to answer these questions,” he said, in a dig at Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli who was invited but did not attend.

Nationalist MP Kristy Debono said that the government’s proposals were “half-baked”, adding that it would be better to wait for some more time and focus on further consultation and consensus until the best result was gleaned. However, MEA director Joe Farrugia warned that the tribunal could not remain defunct for much longer.

Mr Farrugia, Ms Debono and Mr Bonello called for the tribunal to be chaired by a magistrate, aided by two representatives of employers and employees to give a better understanding of the workings of a workplace.

However, Dr Borg Cardona argued that judges and magistrates were perfectly capable of making their own decisions. He pointed out that the overwhelming majority of cases revolved around instances of alleged harassment, discrimination and victimisation and were, as such, strictly legal issues.