Operations at the law courts may grind to a halt on Monday unless there is a breakthrough in negotiations on a new collective agreement for deputy registrars, Times of Malta has learnt.
Sources said talks between the two sides had been pending since 2013, when meetings began on a new agreement aimed at improving the working conditions of deputy court registrars. However, little progress was registered notwithstanding ministerial intervention and the union’s patience ran out, Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin assistant director, Edwin Balzan, said when contacted.
“This has been dragging on for far too long. We were promised counter-proposals several weeks ago but they never arrived. Justice Minister Owen Bonnici intervened but to no avail,” Mr Balzan said.
The directives will be issued if no progress is registered and will directly affect court cases but, worse still, the court registry, considered to be the heart of the law courts.
UĦM general secretary Josef Vella said that every time the union met with relevant parties to try to get to the bottom of the issue it was faced with some excuse, including that internal discussions were still ongoing or that the counter proposals were being drafted.
He said that the union had submitted its proposals in 2013 in a bid to improve the working conditions of the 60 deputy court registrars. He noted there were workers whose careers were at a standstill and others whose take-home pay was lower than that of others doing the same work.
The union, Mr Vella added, drew up a package that addressed these issues and did away with the anomalies.
How much time does the government need to provide workers with decent working conditions?
The last meeting between the two sides was held earlier this week when the union was asked for more time to work on the matter.
“How much time does the government need to provide workers with decent working conditions? Over the last three years, the government moved quickly on large projects worth millions, and this not always in a transparent manner, only to get stuck on an agreement that would guarantee decent conditions of work for workers dependent on the government for a decent wage increase which would benefit them and their families,” he said.
Mr Vella added: “The government is failing to set the example as an employer who is able to come to such agreements efficiently and effectively.
“This does not augur well for the UĦM’s new policy to negotiate agreements within three months. It is good to have a government that listens but it is also good for those who listen to act.”
Questions sent to Dr Bonnici remained unanswered at the time of writing.
matthew.xuereb@timesofmalta.com