People 30/06/2002

The deputy’s hot seat

Social Policy Minister Lawrence Gonzi talks to KURT SANSONE about the new employment regulations, the sympathy strikes betrayal, the drydocks reform and the Nationalist Party’s leadership race

I met Lawrence Gonzi at the Social Policy ministry in Valletta and the first thought that crossed my mind was that I could be interviewing the Nationalist Party’s future leader. But he soon plays down the idea.

"The leadership debate is not an issue for me," Dr Gonzi responds when I pop the question. Anticipating my next query about the tension that a leadership race can create, Dr Gonzi emphasises, "My total concentration and that of all the other ministers including John Dalli, is to improve this country."

He reiterates that tensions exist in every political party because parties are made of people.

Dr Gonzi’s flight to the top echelons of the Nationalist Party was a rapid one. He progressed from Speaker of the House to MP, from Secretary General of the party to Deputy Leader. I ask him to explain this progression.

"It is difficult to explain," he says arguing that in every person’s life there are moments when decisions have to be taken. I wonder which was Dr Gonzi’s hardest decision. "The most difficult decision I took was in 1986 when I decided to enter politics for the first time," he replies. "I was not the type of person who was interested in taking an active part in politics but the difficult period the country passed through between 1981 and 1986 made me reflect. I too had children and it was time for me to turn words into action. Since my young days I was involved in the Catholic Action Movement, of which I ended up being president. This experience brought me in touch with the voluntary sector and it was hard for me to decide to drop all that and enter into the political fray."

Dr Gonzi prides himself in being the first minister to spearhead the wide ranging changes to the Employment Relations Act and the Industrial Relations Act.

He remarks, "Over the past 12 years subsequent government administrations and countless ministers tried to amend these laws. I am proud to be the person who has brought the process to a close by drafting the legal framework for the changes to happen."

I refer him to the criticism made by the General Workers’ Union that the new laws limit workers’ rights, in particular the right to strike.

Dr Gonzi describes the criticism as unjust and incorrect.

"It is unjust because workers will be getting new rights that they did not enjoy until today and furthermore the changes are beneficial to the country as a whole," he argues.

“Despite what the union says I insist that the first priority should be the national interest. There is no doubt that the areas identified in the law as being an essential service are the jugular vein of the country. But to balance things government is giving workers in the essential services the right to go to the industrial tribunal, something, which they did not have in the past."

But what about the power given to the Prime Minister to decide, which services are essential and which are not by issuing a simple legal notice?

Dr Gonzi smiles and points out that this power is already vested in the Prime Minister in the current legal framework. "Today, as things stand the Prime Minister can issue a legal notice and declare certain services as essential," Dr Gonzi says. He adds, "If the proposal in the new law is creating so many problems I can always leave the law as it is today but the new law makes it amply clear that in any such eventuality the Prime minister would consult with the MCESD before taking a decision."

Dr Gonzi explains that under the new law Water Services Corporation workers can still take industrial action as long as water continues to reach people.

I raise the issue of port workers, which have been included in the list of essential services. There have been occasions in the past when the unions used their strength at the ports to paralyse the country. I ask Dr Gonzi whether the new provision aims to prevent similar unrest.

"The issue is not preventing unrest," Dr Gonzi clarifies. He explains that the new law talks about ships carrying specific cargo, such as fuel. "It would be useless considering electricity to be an essential service if a ship carrying fuel for the power station cannot berth in the port because of industrial unrest. Once again it does not mean that port workers cannot take industrial action," the minister stresses.

Dr Gonzi expresses his bewilderment at the GWU’s harsh stance on the issue of essential services and recalls a particular incident under the previous Labour administration. "The then Prime Minister Alfred Sant had decreed that air traffic controllers are to be considered an essential service and I do not recall the GWU protesting about the matter at the time."

The new labour laws are in line with EU directives and government is criticised for introducing them now because of Malta’s EU membership bid.

Dr Gonzi retorts, "It is an unjust criticism." He makes the point that the laws are being changed now because nobody changed them in the previous 12 years, despite repeated attempts.

I cannot help but remark that for the past 12 years, bar the 22-month Labour stint the Nationalist Party was in government. "That is true," he replies. "The social partners never managed to get together to agree on an agenda.

He explains that soon after the 1998 election he committed himself with the Malta Council for Economic Development on three counts. "I had promised that I would deliver a law that would recognise the MCED, which was renamed the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development. I promised that I would create the Authority for Health and Safety and enact the new laws covering labour and industrial relations. They were my three priorities and I delivered. It just happened that they coincided with EU exigencies."

The minister does not fail to mention the incident that occurred in the beginning of the year, concerning sympathy strikes. "I purposely published the documents as received from the MCESD to encourage an open discussion. But when all hell broke lose about the sympathy strikes issue nobody in the MCESD took paternity of the proposal. I felt betrayed by the attitude shown."

But Dr Gonzi would not be let down. "These controversies lead to nowhere and I decided to leave it at that and move on with the process."

The minister is also responsible for the Drydocks Task Force. In November last year, it was given the brief to map out a restructuring plan for the Marsa and Bormla 'yards.

Dr Gonzi explains that the restructuring plan was based on the Appledore Report, which was commissioned during the Labour administration. He says that the report had suggested that the typical workforce for the two 'yards be set between 1,400 and 1,700, a far cry from the current combined workforce of just over 3,000.

Dr Gonzi stresses that government is determined to reduce the Drydocks and Shipbuilding workforce to more manageable levels and does not exclude re-introducing new early retirement schemes.

The schemes launched in January this year closed last month with just over 700 employees from both yards taking up government’s offer.

But Dr Gonzi would not be let down by what appears to be a reduction exercise that went way off mark.

Dr Gonzi explains that the report stipulates that the workforce reductions should take place over a seven-year period with the target for 2002 being 600 employees. "We had the option to devise schemes for only particular sectors of employees but we decided otherwise. The schemes as announced in January had the potential to reduce the worforce by 1,500 employees but we knew that the realistic take-up was going to be between 500 and 600," Dr Gonzi explains.

The minister admits that the scheme devised for the 50 to 55-year-old bracket was not a good scheme. "We realised that it did not work out as expected and from the possible 500 people that could have subscribed to it only a few did," Dr Gonzi says.

Dr Gonzi points out that the early retirement schemes saved government almost Lm5.5 million annually in wages, bonuses and allowances. He adds, "the capital outlay government forked out to finance the schemes will be recuperated in a year."

In industrial circles Dr Gonzi is perceived as soft touch when bargaining with unions during collective agreements. I wonder what he thinks about this.

"If this perception exists it is a wrong one," he remarks taken aback by my question. "Whenever I was involved in industrial disputes I always reached the agreement with the participation of other ministers. When the Malta International Airport dispute was raging the final agreement was brokered between John Dalli, Josef Bonnici and myself," Dr Gonzi emphasises.

He insists that solutions are reached only if all government ministers are on board.

Dr Gonzi admits that the National Insurance hike increased the tax burden on people but refuses to concede that government has simply raked in more taxes and given nothing in return. "I ask myself, do we want a new hospital? Do we want to sustain pensions? It’s not a question of increasing expenditure and giving nothing in return, for God’s sake we are investing in a new hospital," he says.

I broach the subject of fringe benefits. Dr Gonzi would not be fazed by the argument. "A lot of people abused the system. It was a loophole for tax evasion. But the last budget started correcting the tax burden on families by changing the income tax bands for the lower income brackets and as the situation improves, further corrections will be made."

Dr Gonzi points out that government has collected more taxes because of the technical revolution conducted by Finance Minister John Dalli at the Inland Revenue Department.

And Dr Gonzi does not believe that the tax issue will cause the government’s downfall at the polls next year.

"When we see the electoral history of this country, especially since 1987 it shows that the Maltese electorate is refining its political maturity," he argues. Dr Gonzi says that the electorate is increasingly choosing whom to elect after analysing government’s performance. "In the next election people would be able to compare the targets we set ourselves in 1998 with what we managed to achieve. On the whole I believe that the quality of life has improved and people will respond to these changes," Dr Gonzi responds confidently.

I ask Dr Gonzi what he thinks about the Labour leader’s suggestion to shelve the EU and partnership debates for a number of years. "It is a fundamental mistake," Dr Gonzi shoots back stressing that the EU process is changing the quality of life to the better. Dr Gonzi then challenges Dr Sant to declare, which laws from those enacted so far he would repeal if elected to government. "I have asked this question more than once and so far Dr Sant has refused to answer," Dr Gonzi emphasises.

The Deputy Prime Minister is considered to be in the Nationalist Party’s more conservative fold. As yet the party has resisted changing its policy on family and divorce unlike the majority of conservative parties in Europe.

Dr Gonzi puts forward the argument that even in countries where divorce is legal the family is still considered to be an important cell of society.

"My priority is to strengthen the family unit and at the same time to help broken families. Divorce solves absolutely nothing. This happens to be similar to the teachings of the Church but it is not dictated to us by the Church," the minister argues.

Dr Gonzi dwells on the reality of broken families and points out that the government has taken a number of initiatives to offer support to these families, including strengthening the agency Appogg.

Dr Gonzi refers to cohabitation and stresses that the State must regulate the obligations that two people living together without being married have toward each other. I point out that the electoral promise to regulate cohabitation has not yet been implemented.

"It is true but implementing such a measure has to form part of a wider discussion about the family. However, my first priority is to see the enactment of child protection laws. After tackling that area of social policy my ministry would then venture into other aspects such as the cohabitation law," Dr Gonzi explains.

Before I leave I ask whether the new employment regulations apply also for ministers. Dr Gonzi laughs. "If only they applied to ministers as well," he says. "We are currently working almost 24 hours a day seven days a week to see the exciting alternative of EU membership come to fruition."