Unions must be part of the solutions

The Malta Independent online
28 March 2010
by Stephen Calleja

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Malta Employers’ Association were also asked for their comments on the trade union sector in Malta.

The three questions asked were: 1) Do you think that trade unions still have a role to play in the prevailing economic scenario? 2) Are trade unions more helpful/damaging to industry in general? 3) How can unions contribute more positively to the general administration of the country?

This is what they had to say.



The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry

The Chamber believes that trade unions have a crucial role to play in the wage bargaining process. In doing so, trade unions serve as a

single point of contact for employers to deal effectively with the demands and requirements of employees. This role is transformed on a national level where trade unions play a key role in influencing national policy through social dialogue.

In fact, the Chamber has always enjoyed open and regular dialogue with the trade unions, during MCESD, as well as outside this forum. Even on occasions where the Malta Chamber’s opinion differed from that of the unions, the Chamber felt that there was scope for dialogue, as was the case with some of the unions before the utility tariffs protest held last month. To this end, Chamber representatives met with the unions to discuss the issue and explain its point of view and its different approaches to lobbying the cause of its members.

By studying national issues from the point of view of their members, and bringing these arguments to the table of national dialogue, trade unions are and will continue to be relevant. At the national level, trade unions act as a healthy counterbalance to the other social partners, since they try to reconcile their members’ needs with those of the public and private sectors.

The Malta Chamber believes that in this current competitive scenario, the role of the unions must go beyond wage bargaining. Increasingly, they need to work hand-in-hand with employers to promote the concept of life-long learning to enhance flexibility at the place of work, as well as improve the continuous employability of their members. It is also the unions’ role to analyse the significant external changes that are taking place around us and the impact that these have on the need to continuously change processes and working patterns, which are seen as a pre-requisite to competitive advantage. The Chamber feels that the demands on the unions’ role is changing, and will undoubtedly continue to change. The focus should increasingly be on competitiveness and sustainability.



Joe Farrugia, director general MEA

Trade unions play an important role in the economy since they have the status of social partners and thus are indispensable in the social dialogue process. They remain highly influential in the decisions taken at national level on matters related to economic and social policy, and are also very active in lobbying on these issues at EU level. At enterprise level, numerous companies still interact with unions through the

collective bargaining process.

If we look at what is happening in many EU countries, it is evident that unions are finding it difficult to come to grips with the fact that many of the systems they have lobbied with governments are clearly not sustainable in the current economic conditions. Many governments are overmanned, inefficient, and operate welfare systems that are unsustainable. For a great number of years, governments have appeased unions and coped with such systems by accumulating debt.

However, the situation in these countries has escalated to crisis point and many governments, including those who are traditionally sympathetic to the unions – like the UK and Greece – are coming to terms with the fact that they need to take measures that are obviously in conflict with unions’ aspirations. In these circumstances, rather than resorting to protest marches and industrial action, unions would be more responsible if they tell their members about the need to bring national finances in order, and to take measures to boost productivity and competitiveness – both in the private and public sectors – even if this means a temporary deterioration in their conditions of employment. The European social model is only sustainable if it is backed by economic growth. There is no escaping economic reality indefinitely.

I fear that there may come a time when this crunch will be felt even at EU level, and many labour directives will have to be revisited if the European Union is to compete with the United States and Asia. In Malta, we have relatively stable industrial relations, and we should learn from the experience of other countries to avoid duplicating their mistakes.

Unions need to be better at not just pointing out the problems, but at contributing to and being part of the solutions. This means that they should exercise their power to defend employees’ rights and to improve their working conditions when the economy is growing, and to accept that companies may not be in a position to improve conditions of employment when they are facing a contraction in business activity. The global competitive climate is making it increasingly difficult in many areas for companies to hand out wage increases just because the collective agreement has expired. Unions also have to be more open to flexible work systems, just as employers must also honour their obligations to motivate and develop their human resources.


http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=103761