A lawyers’ association has formally asked for Richard Matrenza to be removed as an industrial tribunal chair, describing his actions as “unorthodox and unbecoming”.

Sources close to the Employment Relations Board told the Times of Malta that the recently-formed Malta Employment Lawyers’ Association (MELA) had written to the Prime Minister asking for Mr Matrenza’s removal, a process which would start with a discussion within the board.

The tension between the chairman and the lawyers dates back to a memorandum issued by Mr Matrenza in March 2018, in which he instructed those concerned that he would hold three sittings, back to back on alternate Friday afternoons. 

All those involved were told they were expected to attend, barring “illness or death”. He also indicated that the cases were to be driven forward by the employee and the employer – and not other persons associated with them.

Lawyers were aghast at the memo, and said that while it was all well and good to try to speed things up, the tribunal could not impose procedures that were not envisaged in the law. 

A letter was sent to the tribunal secretary by the association, saying that its members were being told to stick to the letter of the law and to ignore instructions outside this remit.

Attempts to subsequently resolve the issue with the input of the Chamber of Advocates proved futile. 

Things reached a head last month when Mr Matrenza issued a decree through which he said he wanted to send a “strong message” about the role of the tribunal, saying it was there to determine the employment relationship – and not who the employer actually was, throwing out the case until this fact was determined.

Mr Matrenza was one of three chairmen appointed to the tribunal in April 2016 to replace five whose terms had expired in November 2015. 

The appointments came after a court decision ruling that the industrial tribunal law was unconstitutional as it did not guarantee independence and impartiality. The tribunal was suspended for a few months after the ruling, until a “temporary solution” was established to keep the tribunal functioning. 

Mr Matrenza, Malta’s former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, had in the past also worked for the GWU’s Union Print.

The Malta Employers’ Association and the MELA are both re-commending a wide-ranging reform of the tribunal.