GWU says employees should be involved in lands department reform

General Workers’ Union secretary general Josef Bugeja has stressed the importance of involving employees in the lands department in the reform of the department into a new authority.

Speaking during a meeting with planning parliamentary secretary Deborah Schembri, Bugeja said that although many of the employees were facing uncertainty due to the reform, they were also optimistic about the changes.

Flanked by Victor Carachi, Kevin Camilleri, Jeremy James Camilleri, George Zahra, Schembri and Bugeja also discussed the simplification of administrative processes and issues particularly related to employees of the lands department.

“I’m always sorry to hear people use negative adjectives to describe employees of the department,” Schembri said, stressing that all too often it was the system that failed rather than the employees themselves.

Schembri further stressed the important role of employees in the reform and said that they were being consulted to ensure that the reform has the best results.

“The department will not just go through physical changes, but changes in the legal framework and administrative structure will be at the core of the reform,” she insisted, adding that the change would be felt by the public and employees alike.