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SPEECH BY THE HON. DR. LAWRENCE GONZI, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER FOR SOCIAL POLICY, DURING A SEMINAR: "SOCIAL DIALOGUE IN CANDIDATE COUNTRIES: MALTA AND CYPRUS" - ORGANISED BY THE CMTU AND THE GWU - TA’ XBIEX – 27 OCTOBER 2001
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29/10/2001
29/10/2001
Ladies and Gentlemen
| Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address | you this morning on a topic which I personally consider to be of vital importance for the present and future well being of our country. |
| I make this statement because past and present | experience both in Malta and abroad, prove that the economic and social development of a country depends on the input, the contribution and the co-operation of all those components that make up that same economic and social reality. There are numerous models that can be quoted, all of which prove this point. Ireland is a typical example, but there are also others. In all cases, it is clear that those countries who have managed to harness all the energy available, those who have brought the social partners into a constructive dialogue mechanism and those who have used this tool in an intelligent and mature manner – all have benefited enormously. |
| It is for this reason that I would like to focus my | speech on two points. The first point relates to what I understand social dialogue to imply. The second point refers to the Maltese context and the need for us all to streamline our efforts in order to move forward at a faster pace. |
| Let me expound on the first point. Clearly, today’s | economic and social scenarios have no comparison to what existed twenty or even ten years ago. A quiet but active revolution has taken place and I suspect that some of us did not recognise the real extent of this change. What is generally described as the knowledge society was born a few years ago as a result of the advances in information technology. These advances removed the physical barriers that had been hindering our ability to do business with each other. At the time we were limited either by the sea that surrounded as, or by the distance that separated us, or by the delays that necessarily increased our costs to do business outside of our territorial limits. |
| Most of this has now changed because we live together | in a world where distance is now substituted by a virtual reality which is a mouse click away from our desks. We export and import services and products over an electronic link that has changed our place of work and that has had and will continue to have an impact on our conditions of work. |
| The implications of all this are mind boggling. One | such implication is the fact that an economy can no longer survive if it is centralised or if it is over controlled by a government system. Speed and efficiency in doing business has become the key word for success. A factory or, for that matter, any other place of work that does not manage to compete on these levels is doomed to fail. In other words, jobs – real down to earth jobs – can be placed at risk if speed and efficiency are compromised. |
| This is why governments today have re-dimensioned | their role. They are no longer the key players in the formula for success because today, success depends on the ability of the employer and the worker to devise a system that competes on efficiency and quality. As a result, government’s role today is that of designing policy. Admittedly it remains a regulating role, but one which is intended to remove bureaucracy and to make it easier for the business community to operate quickly and efficiently and without undue costs. |
| But the achievement of this objective can only be | realised if it is the result of a process of dialogue with the other key players. The tool, therefore, is social dialogue. I emphasise the word tool. By this I mean that social dialogue is part of a mechanism that allows each party to understand what the overall vision is and to take decisions in the best interest of that overall vision. The secret here is to widen the horizon for each one of the parties taking part in the dialogue. |
| Thus, governments need to understand the position of | the Unions and the employers. But similarly, employers and Unions have to place the interests of the sectors they represent within a wider national context. It is only social dialogue that achieves this. |
| Naturally, this does not mean that a democratically | elected government relinquishes its responsibility to take decisions and to be accountable to the electorate for these same decisions. But it means that decisions are taken as a result of this process and not in spite of it. |
There is an important distinction to be made here. Social Dialogue does not necessarily mean consensus. It does not mean that decisions are postponed until all the parties to the process agree to what is being proposed. But it does mean that the decisions are taken after weighing the different perspectives that form part of the same issue.
| I must admit that in Malta this represents an | important culture change which can only take place if we are all committed to achieve it. In a sense, this is the challenge facing the Maltese people. It is certainly a challenge which is at the forefront of my government’s agenda. |
| We want this culture change to take place. We want | our people to understand how important the environment is for our social and economic well being. We want to stress that we must all value our human resources and therefore health and safety matters are at the top of our agenda. We want our employers to share with us the responsibility to invest in order to upgrade the skills of our workforce. We want our Unions to join us in identifying the manner in which we can increase productivity and efficiency, the way in which we can remove bad work practices and the best way in which we can improve the skills of our workforce. |
| We want this, because we believe that we all stand to | gain. |
| This brings me to a second point which is focused on | the local scenario and which is also closely related to social dialogue in Malta. I believe the time has come for us all to make a special effort to streamline industrial relations by bringing our unions together. |
| Government cannot and will not force this issue. It | is a purely Union related matter and I mention this subject with some trepidation. But I do so because I sincerely believe that it is in my country’s best interest to be able to have our trade union movement represented in one national body – a Trade Union Council that respects the identity of each organisation but that allows different Unions to come together around a table and to discuss issues of common concern. |
| I personally believe that this will enhance the value | of our social dialogue. It should also help to diminish the splintering that takes place at a place of work and it will also help to identify common ground rather than areas of competition between one Union and another. |
Where does the European Union come into all this ? The simple answer to this question is that the process for Malta’s accession to the Union is one which requires us to move in this direction. The momentum of change is there and it presses upon us to change and to change quickly.
| There are some amongst us who believe that we can | continue to postpone this change. I have heard this for the last twenty years of my life. In the meantime, our employment legislation is 50 years old. Our industrial relations legislation is 21 years old. The result today is that we have some systems that are not suitable for the social and economic realities of today. |
| Change is therefore a requirement that cannot be | postponed. |
| In conclusion, allow me to reiterate my gratitude to | the CMTU and the GWU for inviting me to address you this morning and to thank the Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL) for the promotion of this initiative. |
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