26 October - 1 November 2000

Shopping on Sunday

One of the more serious faults of any government in power is not to listen to the people. History has shown that whenever a leader or ruler failed to gauge the will of the people, he or she did not last very long.
In Malta, we have the same problem. Before the 1996 election, the Nationalist government has received ample signs that the people were discontented. Come 1996, the people opted for a new leadership. Less than two years later, the Labour government found itself in exactly the same situation. Its policies were not accepted by the so-called “floating voters” and Labour leader Alfred Sant was forced to call it a day.
Governments, irrespective of their political swing or belief always seem to forget the people. They are elected by the people and not the other way round. They are there to serve not to be served. Yet, strangely enough, even on minor issues, governments give the impression that they simply laugh down at the peoples’ whims.
The issue of shops opening on Sunday is one particular example. Reports in the local press have once again shown that a good percentage of shop owners are in favour of opening their shops. The government, on the other hand, has made it very clear that it is against this idea. One of the main reasons, the government has stated, is that it will affect the people’s social and family values.
Granted that it may affect a few people, studies abroad have also shown that in certain cases, it has helped family life. A survey carried out by The Malta Independent last July revealed that 64 per cent of those interviewed were in favour of shops opening on a Sunday. Is this not indicative of the people’s wishes? Even more important, however, is the fact that the majority wanted certain services to open that did not necessarily include supermarkets.
Recent reports said that most of those shops opening on Sundays were doing so in breach of the law. Then again, the law permits them to take orders. Is this not another form of selling? To our mind, it is. While the law must be enforced at all times, it is only fair that certain “loopholes” are closed so that no one stands to benefit at another’s expense. Times have changed.
It is difficult to understand the government’s present attitude towards Sunday shopping. If public opinion is so much in favour of changing the present law, why doesn’t the government act? It is true that governments should abide by certain principles irrespective of public opinion, but what principles are we talking about here? Is saying no to Sunday shopping a matter of principle? If so, what principle are we talking about?
Then again, and we would like to emphasise a great deal on one point. No one should be forced to work on a Sunday. Sunday shopping should be optional and employees should have the right to choose whether they work or not.
We are in favour of Sunday shopping but not at the expense of the workers’ rights. Both the private sector and the government must work together to find a solution that is beneficial to all. What is more important is that the government, for once, listens attentively to what the public has to say. The government’s attitude towards Sunday shopping is too rigid and should be relaxed.

No industrial dispute

The General Workers’ Union has written to all its members in the civil service as well as government and private owned companies and corporations and informed them that they should be in Valletta tomorrow morning at 8.30 am as a show of strength against the government. This protest is to be held as the GWU presents its anti-budget measures petition to the government.
While the union has every right to disagree with last year’s budget measures, it certainly has no right to order its members to go on strike when no industrial dispute exists. In a letter to the management of various companies, the union said it was ordering its members to report late to work “because of a trade dispute the union has with the government” regarding last year’s budget measures. This is not correct. No such trade dispute exists.
The law is certainly not on the side of the General Workers’ Union. A court judgement recently made it clear that the actions by the Union Haddiema Maghqudin at the Malta Freeport in connection with the budget during the Labour administration were abusive and illegal. The same principle surely applies here.
The government has already made it clear, and rightly so, that any civil servant who is absent from work on Friday and chooses instead to participate in the GWU budget protest will have his salary reduced and also be subject to disciplinary action. Companies have also been put in a difficult situation. They certainly cannot afford to have their employees to go on strike simply because the GWU still has not come to terms with the fact – 11 months later – that the budget announced in November 1999 is here to stay.
It is about time that the GWU grows up and acts in a mature way. It should forget about tomorrow’s strike, quietly present its petition to the government and take part in next year’s consultations on the budget.

Less squabbling, please

Once again the government and the General Workers’ Union are at loggerheads over measures introduced in last year’s budget. The GWU collected more than 78,000 signatures – a figure the government is saying should read just over 46,000 – and staged a two-hour strike last Friday. The government replied to the latest GWU salvo by declaring the union’s action as illegitimate.
In less than a month’s time, Finance Minister John Dalli will be presenting his government’s budget for 2001. What is going to happen is anybody’s guess but whichever path the government takes to reduce expenditure, it will have to introduce other measures that will undoubtedly affect the worker. What then? Another national strike? Another petition? More Issa Daqshekk campaigns?
We sincerely hope this will not be the case. It is time for the government to get the opposition and the General Workers’ Union to sit down at the negotiating table and form a national plan to solve the country’s economical problems. The GWU should also understand that for the country’s economy to get back on its feet there is no way that a recovery programme will not affect the working class.
Malta’s problems should be discussed and tackled on the long term. While petitions and strikes may have their desired effect for a short while, the main economic ills are not going to be solved by marching in Valletta or, on the other hand, sending letters of reply to those who signed the petition.
For once, less squabbling, please and more action.