The autonomy public authorities should enjoy vis-a-vis the central Administration does not give them full freedom to ignore government policies such as family-friendly measures and employment procedures, according to the Ombudsman.
The Central Bank, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, Air Malta, Enemalta, Public Broadcasting Services and other public entities should respect the government's decisions regulating public administration unless these impinged on the exercise of their roles and independence, Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino said.
He recommended setting up a consultative mechanism to iron out any "confrontational issues" that could arise between the government and public entities when it came to implementing government policies.
"Transparency and accountability should therefore be the passwords for good governance throughout all levels of the administrative pyramid," the Ombudsman said.
Chief Justice Emeritus Said Pullicino made this recommendation in a report he presented to Parliament Speaker Louis Galea.
The own-initiative report looked into the relationship between government and public entities, which essentially provide a public service but hold their own legal personalities.
He explained how the report was spurred by the complaint of a mother employed at the Central Bank, a public entity. The woman wanted to benefit from a family-friendly measure - to work reduced hours until her son turned four - as was the case with public officers working with the government.
However, the Bank turned down the request and insisted that its decision was in line with the collective agreement. Eventually, the woman decided to resign.
Without going into the merits of the case, the Ombudsman said the case raised important institutional issues he decided to investigate.
He based his considerations on two main points: the implementation of government family-friendly measures and employment procedures within public entities.
The Ombudsman found that quoting a collective agreement, so as not to implement government family-friendly measures, was not justified.
"The family-friendly measures introduced by the government give benefits to public officers that are over and above those enjoyed by them as of right by statute or agreement," Dr Said Pullicino wrote in the report.
Turning to employment issues, he pointed out that, while public entities rightly maintained that they were not subject to employment regulations applicable to the public service, their procedures still had to conform to the rigid standards of transparency and good governance, which public service was bound to abide by.
Yet, the Ombudsman pointed out, he had received several complaints of inadequate standards of employment procedure and lack of transparency in recruitment methods.
Dr Said Pullicino concluded that it was important for the government to respect the autonomy of public entities.
However, public entities "should not interpret their acquired autonomy as giving them full freedom to ignore policies adopted by the national government when these in no way impinge on the exercise of their proper functions".
Having said that, he stressed, public entities should retain the power to refuse to implement policies if they impinged on their function.
They should then explain why that was the case. The consultative committee would allow space for this.
Through the committee, the government could also consult the various entities before approving a measure.