A request for the removal of Richard Matrenza as an industrial tribunal chairman has been thrown out on the basis that it does not meet the requirements of the law, according to informed sources.

The Malta Association of Employment Lawyers (MELA) had recently written to the Prime Minister and the Employment Relations Board asking for his removal.

The association told the Times of Malta that it was very concerned by the government’s reaction and that it would be taking the appropriate steps in due course.

In the meantime, further details emerged about the lawyers’ grievances, with sources insisting that the association would have never taken such a step unless it was warranted.

He clearly has no idea about proper procedure or respect for it

Mr Matrenza’s lack of legal background is at the root of the association’s request. MELA and the Malta Employers’ Association are both recommending that tribunal chairmen should be lawyers.

One source explained that Mr Matrenza had referred a case relating to transfer of business “to be decided by the Director of Industrial and Employment Relations” – who, they said, actually had no power to do so. 

One of his cases was also appealed and is currently awaiting judgment by the courts.

Other complaints are related to the time taken for his cases to be concluded, and various demands made by him, which the sources said showed “he clearly has no idea about proper procedure or respect for it”.

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.

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