PN to present proposals for industrial tribunal reform

The Nationalist party said it would not support the government's proposals for the reform of the industrial tribunal and has presented its own proposals for the act on employment and industrial relations act.

Addressing a press conference this morning, MEP and shadow minister for employment Therese Comodini Cachia said that the PN had met with stakeholders and understood the urgency of the reform. 

“This reform gives us the opportunity to change the justice process in the industrial setting and to have a law that represents current needs,” she said, adding that the PN had a list of principles it felt would meet the needs of the people. 

The Constitutional Court earlier this month upheld a ruling passed in June last year by Justice Anna Felice, in favour of a claim by the General Workers Union (GWU) that the composition of the Industrial Tribunal breaches the right to a fair hearing and does not respect the Constitution and the European Convention for Human Rights.

The Attorney General had appealed her judgment arguing that the union should have sought redress in other fora and not the Constitutional Hall, that there was a misinterpretation of law and the context in which the union had filed its claim. Following the ruling, the government immediately announced that it had asked the AG to draft legal amendments to strengthen the legal guarantees ensuring the independence and impartiality of the tribunal.

Comodini Cachia said that the aprty believed that the tribunal should be presided by someone fully certified, with no political ties.

“Another principle we will keep in mind in our proposals is that the tribunal should be chaired by a magistrate, and that the security of tenure for members of the panel are ensured,” she said, adding that the party wished that magistrates serving in the tribunal would have full protection both in terms of job security and in dismissal proceedings. 

“It is important for employees and employers to have full faith in the tribunal,” she stressed. 

She added that the government should not have its “finger in the pie” in terms of the appointment and dismissal of chairpersons or board members. 

"The reform should ensure that there was no added bureaucracy and that sentences are handed out in an efficient and timely manner," she said.

She added that the party also believes that all parties should have an effective right of appeal.

“The Opposition will be making proposals for the amendments, bearing these principles in mind, to seek long-term and effective changes,” she said.

Spokesperson for industrial relations Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said that he had already spoken out about the subject and the need for a rigorous change back in October. 

“An independent and impartial process is essential, and the draft may already be unconstitutional as it is,” Mifsud Bonnici said, adding that the PN's meeting with stakeholders had revealed a general consensus on the principles necessary for effective change.