Civil service untouched by financial crisis, trade unionist-turned-politician says

PN’s stewardship of Maltese economy was guarantee for collective agreement that raised lowest salaries by €2,425 annually.

2 March 2013, 12:00am
by Matthew Vella

2 min read

It was left up to former trade unionist Gejtu Vella, today a PN candidate, to pay tribute to the Nationalist Party's work creation proposals, holding up Malta's economy to the light of Europe's worst performing economies.

"Voters must be aware of the deleterious state that some of Europe's mightiest economies have fallen into - we are seeing public sector cuts in countries like Italy, Portugal, Spain, the UK and even Ireland, a tiger economy that is now just a mere cat," Vella said in a press conference.

Vella, who reiterated yet again the PN's claim of having created and safeguarded 20,000 through direct intervention during the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

"Thanks to those measures we took, today in 2013 we have managed to conclude collective agreements with seven trade union in the public sectors. Not only have saved jobs thanks to timely measures... we have managed not to follow suit as in the rest of Europe where public sector wages were cut, benefits removed, and the public sector saw a multitude of redundancies. Our country is different," Vella said.

"Suffice it to say that the lower grades in the civil service will see an increase of €2,425 annually, which is incremented as you go higher up in the civil service scale."

The PN is pledging a universal childcare service for working and studying parents, which it says is not limited to a particular age-bracket as proposed by Labour; as well as giving parents sick leave to tend to their children when they fall ill; subsidised training programmes; and new conditions for third-party government contractors that will not factor in employees' salaries in tender contracts so that workers will have to be guaranteed fair salaries.

MEP David Casa, also a Nationalist candidate, paid tribute to Lawrence Gonzi's efforts in the EU budget talks to clinch €1.12 billion in structural and cohesion funds. "Our programme's proposals for job creation are part of a chain that is needed for this country - we should not threaten the stability of our economic success, by voting for Labour and Joseph Muscat as prime minister. Gonzi gave us credibility and stability, and success in work, free healthcare, and education," Casa said, referring to the pillars of the PN's electoral programme.

Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...

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Mr Gejtu Vella we read the FT, Le Monde, The London Times and The Economist, so we know how Greece fell from grace because your chums in politics the Conservative Greek Party hid all debt for years on end in order to propel the feel good factor in Greece! We also read about Ireland and Italy and about their problem of sky high debt ruined their finances! These countries together with Greece were administered by the conservatives; whilst in Spain ruled by Zapatero went down because of the business debt concocted by land speculation!

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Gejtu said "even Ireland, a tiger economy is now just a mere cat" Gejtu tell this to Gonzi and our EU expert Simon Busuttil who repeatedly told us how Malta will be the second tiger before Ireland went bankrupt. Unfortunately the Maltese media does not find time to remind readers about this and Gonzi is given a free hand with criticising Joseph Muscat about his couple of remarks he made in favour of Cyprus. Gonzi and Simon Busuttil are hypocrats on this issue.

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Signing belated collective agreements on the eve of an election...so ethical! Another wolf in sheeps' clothing. We have had so many PN stooges who have infiltrated different organisations over the years and pop up when it suits the regime. Always playing the part of the voice of reason but in fact being the most sinister form of undemocratic behaviour.

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I am not surprised that Lawrence Gonzi is getting credit for Dun Gorg sainthood since he is the real miracle worker. Well he says that he created 20,000 jobs, yet the unemployment rate keeps going up and the birth-rate going down. In fact when it suits him he talks and talks about our ageing society. Not enough young people to ensure the feasibility of future pensions, etc. So how come these 20,000 jobs I pray thee? Most probably Gonzi counts those jobs which have transferred to Malta in the financial business sector. These are not newly created jobs but jobs that already existed and the companies transferred to Malta because the companies and those employed with them get to pay lower tax. yes they pay lower tax than you or I while they live and work here. Did you get that. Than there lots of young EU citizens that come here and work in the hospitality business for peanuts but they have the sun and cheap booze. These are not jobs which the Maltese want. Then there are those jobs which a pay pittance to a lot of Maltese, especially women. These are not jobs but slavery.

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THE CIVIL SERVICE, OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS HAS BEEN CAREFULLY HANDPICKED BY THE GONZIPN CLIQUE AND ARE ALMOST IN THEIR ENTIRETY BLUE EYED BOYS. OF COURSE THEY HAVE NOT BEEN TOUCHED BY THE FINANCIAL CRISIS. THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GIVEN GENEROUS HANDOUTS AND PERKS, PAID FOR BY US, THE TAX PAYERS. THE TOP ECHELONS HAVE BEEN THE BACKBONE OF COVER UPS FOR THE CORRUPT PRACTICES OF THEIR MASTERS AND GEJTU VELLA HAS TURNED TURNCOAT AND JOINED HIS CROWD. HE HAS SHOWN HIS TRUE COLOURS AND THE MEMBERS OF HIS UNION HAVE SUFFERED AS A RESULT.

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What can this wanna be poltician tell us, we ain't stupid we know what has happened during the last 5 years. His overture to the civil-service is a desperate attempt to garner some votes. We still remember Gejtu asking a Labour government in 1996-98 asking for a €23 iper week increase, a demend he never re[peated after that. Hypocracy will get you nowhere Gejtu and on the 9th March you will get your answer.

Lawrence Covin •

Re your title: "trade unionists-turned-politician" is inaccurate. He was a politician disguised as trade unionist.

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Ara min tkellem fost il politikanti tal P.N. ex trade unjonista Gejtu Vella li meta tela Alfred Sant fin 1996 u gholla d-dawl u l-ilma b'1cent per unit tal Lm il qadima li jghamlu ejja nghidu hekk 3cents il unit , dan Gejtu kien ried 9Lm fil gimgha zieda u kemm hareg u ghamel protesti , kemm trid u jekk taqlibom id 9Lm fil gimgha jghamlu kwazi €22 fil gimgha li kemm ilhom hemm in nazzjoanlisti fil gvern min 1998 u d-dawl u l-ilma ghola mal mitt darba izjed milli ghollieh Dr.Sant dan Gejtu kien qal biex inkunu prudenti. Biex jurik kemm hu jhobb lil haddiema, jekk tiehu kieku kemm ghola d-dawl u l-ilma min 1998 sal lum mhux €22 fil gimgha zieda kien suppost jitlob Gejtu Vella meta mal €220. Mhux hekk?

John Mifsud •

Is Gejtu Vella for real?