The present budget dispute between the government and the General Workers’ Union is stalling the debate on economic reform within the Malta Council for Economic Development (MCED), the council’s chairman Prof. Edward Scicluna told The Malta Business Weekly.

17-23 Feb 2008 by Franco Aloisio

The present budget dispute between the government and the General Workers’ Union is stalling the debate on economic reform within the Malta Council for Economic Development (MCED), the council’s chairman Prof. Edward Scicluna told The Malta Business Weekly. Policy.”Right now the atmosphere is not conducive to an ongoing dialogue between the social partners within the MCED,” Prof. Scicluna said.

He said the MCED has a number of important issues which need to be discussed such as that of privatisation and changes in the employment laws, namely the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) and the Conditions of Employment and Regulations Act (CERA). However the timing for such discussions is not right, he said.

The MCED has over the last months been criticised by various quarters for not being the proper forum for discussion between the social partners. Prof. Scicluna said that the MCED should be reformed in order to truly reflect the interests of all constituted bodies and all other organisations representing civil society.

Meanwhile, an important meeting of the MCED is scheduled for tomorrow, when Minister for Social Policy Lawrence Gonzi will be meeting the social partners to discuss the developments in the CERA and IRA. Both laws are currently being analysed in view of being updated. The meeting with Dr Gonzi should clarify the procedure which will be adopted in the discussion on the employment laws.

The process, which has been ongoing for these last years, has reached a final stage whereby sub-committees have presented their reports on each law. These reports are being discussed by the various social partners. Prof. Scicluna said that the MCED is expected to present its proposals to the government on the necessary changes in the CERA and IRA in the coming months. However, this depends on the industrial relations scenario which will prevail in the coming months, he said.