When politicians start knocking on people’s doors canvassing for votes it is usually a sure sign an election is not far off but there is another strong indication that a party in government gives of an impending election. It is when the administration either starts being generous or when it begins to do things it ought to have done earlier in its term of office, or when it does both at the same time. Joseph Muscat’s administration is likely to take the third course.
Most of the electoral vibes are in place: the aggressive mode of political talk, frequency of political activities and the rapidly rising political tension. Speculation that Labour may call an election well ahead of the end of its term is now rife, though the latest round of allegations in the Panama Papers scandal may affect its plan.
Still, whatever date the Prime Minister will pick, he will be making doubly sure he has all the pieces well in place before blowing the whistle.
The pre-election plan is evidently already well laid out on the table, with party strategists having already drawn up popular moves to put the party in the best possible light. Changing definite work contracts for workers in the public service to indefinite is one such move. Getting the collective agreement done in time is another.
Public service employees deserve to have the right working conditions and pay rates. But what they need more than anything else right now is moral direction, something the party in government lost when it torpedoed basic governing principles.
With regard to definite contracts, the government said that, so far, positions in the public service were made on the basis of three-year contracts and successful applicants could only have obtained an indefinite status by the fourth year of employment. Henceforth, it noted, positions in the public service that were not in a senior management level would be filled on an indefinite basis.
Only the applicable probationary/ trial period will determine whether an officer will be confirmed in the position, thus attaining indefinite status. The change makes sense as it eliminates discrimination in this regard vis-à-vis workers in the private sector. It is, therefore, a most welcome move to those that still have a long way to go before reaching the four-year time limit and, also, to new entrants in the public service.
Although the change does not apply to all public service employees, such as teachers and doctors, who have their own career agreements, it affects hundreds of employees in the public service. Which is why the Nationalist Party was quick to point out in an immediate reaction to the government’s move that, if elected, it would respect civil service contracts.
It remains to be seen to what extent the party in government will continue to use, or abuse, the power of incumbency. When its image has been tarnished so much by the string of scandals that has rocked its administration, the likelihood is that it will do its best to try and cover up its ugly record through handouts or other favourable moves.
The change in work contracts for public service workers and the manner in which the collective agreement has been concluded have to be seen in that light.