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The timeframes for the much-awaited social pact and a stiff warning on workers’ conditions at parastatal corporations were two priorities raised by the two major unions at separate meetings with the prime minister this week.
“We gave him concrete proposals,” General Workers’ Union Secretary General Tony Zarb said after the one-hour meeting at Castille Tuesday the major shareholder, referring to measures “affecting families badly” and job problems facing employees there.
“We came to give you a message about the real situation at different places of work,” Zarb told the prime minister. “Our economic situation is such that we’re the least EU accession country to have raised its GDP.”
Expressing his union’s disposition to hold an “open dialogue” with the government, he also said he looked forward to seeing how discussions would be followed by implementation.
The prime minister told the GWU delegation he was meeting unions and constituted bodies to consult “all sectors of society” about the economic challenges ahead.
“The idea behind this meeting is to listen to the GWU’s suggestions,” he said.
An hour later a Union Haddiema Maghqudin delegation led by Secretary General Gejtu Vella reminded the prime minister of its proposals for a social pact. He reiterated the union’s hopes to reach consensus from the major stakeholders by the end of this year.
“We’re satisfied that political parties, the Church and employers are reacting positively to our document,” Vella said. “We’ll keep working to perfect it so that the major work would be done already for MCESD.”
Gonzi agreed, stopping short of committing himself to timeframes.
“A social pact is based on the ability to sit around the table and agree on the reforms in the national interest,” he said, congratulating the UHM for its initiative to launch the social pact debate.
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