It has now been since summer that the Union Haddiema Maghqudin first proposed that all social partners should enter into what it termed as a social pact with the intention of adopting a common front based on open and effective communication among the parties involved to address the challenges facing this country.
Unfortunately, the reception has been lukewarm. Given the imminent entry of Malta into the European Union and the challenges and opportunities that this entails, one would have hoped that everyone would have warmed up to the idea in no time at all.
What in fact we had was something different. Some have said nothing at all. Others have said that they wanted to know more what this idea meant in practice. Others thought there was a catch somewhere. Others have said that previous attempts at social dialogue, like the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, have failed and are, therefore, doubtful as to how this idea can succeed.
Some have supported the idea but not with much drive. However, for various reasons best known to themselves several organisations kept singing, from the same song sheet they have had for years even though at times the messages were similar.
It is as if we are reluctant to move to another phase in our social dialogue; possibly afraid that we would lose our previously held (all too often strongly entrenched) positions, just in case something goes wrong and we would need to go back to them.
It is a confirmation of the view that we are not appreciating that we are in the midst of a change process and what we need is to manage this process, rather than moan for the good times gone by and complain that we are in a crisis.
So now we have this UHM proposal for a social pact; the General Workers' Union on a campaign for jobs (which leaves me wondering whether jobs come from thin air, mass meeting style of activities, or concrete action by all concerned); other trade unions focussing in a parochial fashion on their members' interest while not appreciating that by doing so they are damaging their own members' long-term interests.
From their own perspective the organisations representing business keep reminding us that firms operating in Malta are losing their competitive edge and cannot sustain their activities here for any long period of time. It is as if everybody is trying to get support for one's own ideas from everyone else; but nobody is really seeking to find the common ground for the social pact to take off.
One comment that really indicates this frame of mind is the claim made by someone that, before we can agree on having a social pact, we must first have the admission by everyone that our economy is in a crisis. It is as if we need to be in a crisis situation to strengthen our social dialogue for the benefit of our economy. Otherwise we can keep on fighting each other until there is nothing else to fight for.
Our aspirations are to be full and effective members of the European Union. We are becoming members on May 1. Although there are some with mixed feelings (like the Malta Labour Party), they have declared that their policy is to seek to ensure that any opportunities resulting from membership are fully exploited, and that any negative impact resulting from membership be mitigated as much as possible.
Effective and open social dialogue is the order of the day in most EU member states; I need one good reason why it cannot be so in Malta.
What seems to be hindering this process is the power and role culture that seems to be embedded in a number of organisations. The feeling is that social dialogue can be interpreted as a sign of weakness and not a sign of strength, and therefore a potential loss of power.
There is still a siege mentality that does not accept that the role of the social partners is not to fight, destroy and protect one's patch until defeat but to cooperate, build and seek to find the common ground. There is the belief that, on any issue, one side wins and the other loses, with the winner taking all. This makes it very difficult not to create the air of a struggle when addressing any issue.
What we do need is a task-and-people culture. This means being fully conscious of the challenges ahead, setting objectives to overcome those challenges and exploiting all the opportunities, and working hard to achieve those objectives. We need to take into account the "people" issues as we go along in order to maintain not just economic cohesion but also social cohesion.
It means taking a different approach while adhering to one's principles. However, if we do not take this different approach, the social pact would remain an elusive objective.