5 - 11 April 2001

Prudence praised, common-sense prevails in USS ‘La Salle’ issue

Less than a month ago, the country was surrounded by controversy over the contract won by the Malta Drydocks to work on the American Sixth Fleet flagship, the USS La Salle. At the time, certain sections of Drydocks workers claimed they would find it objectionable on conscience to work on the vessel belonging to the US Navy as, in their opinion, this would be in breach of the neutrality clause in the Constitution and the declaration that Maltese shipyards would not be made available to military ships belonging to the two superpowers.
It may be claimed that by having doubts on the attraction of military contracts, Drydock’s workers would only, and perhaps unwittingly, create work and wealth for their counterparts in foreign competing yards. Furthermore, they would contribute towards the continuation of financial difficulties in an industry which has made Malta and its people proud throughout the centuries.
Fortunately, however, common sense and national interest prevailed and the work is envisaged to go through as planned. The Drydocks can reap the benefits from the concerted efforts made by government and the management of the shipyards with the cooperation of the unions to secure this contract for the ship-repair industry. In the light of cut-throat competition between shipyards around the globe, this was not an easy task and it is certain that the Malta Drydocks will once again prove its worth in terms of quality and workmanship. Hence, these efforts which have recently proved successful, must not go unpraised.
The country is at a crucial stage of economic development whereby it must strive to become as competitive as possible in order to meet the challenges of globalisation. It is an acknowledged fact that the economy simply cannot afford a situation whereby local industry continues to depend on taxpayers funds for survival.
This is an artificial and unreasonable state of affairs whereby the rest of the country must continue to contribute financially to the survival of the shipyards, or any other entity in similar circumstances, for an indefinite period of time. National debate taking place in the midst of the controversy suggested that public opinion was not pleased with such a state of affairs.
The Malta Chamber of Commerce, was pleased that the issue was positively resolved in a relatively short period of time and that the work on the vessel would start towards the end of this month. It perceives this contract as a perfect chance for the shipyard to earn much needed revenue for the country and to mitigate its accumulated losses.
It could serve as an ideal opportunity for the Drydocks to turn round the corner and proceed in its restructuring plans with stronger confidence among its 2,800 workers. Such reforms are necessary if the Malta Drydocks is ever to stand on solid foundations. More importantly, the contract provides an excellent prospect for the yard to change its reputation and become known as a viable entity and a foreign exchange earner. Once again, what applies for the Drydocks is equally relevant to all public or parastatal companies that may not be operating as efficiently as they would be expected to be.
The completion of this contract in June will most certainly result in an outstanding advert around the globe for local talent and workmanship in the ship repair industry. It is hoped that other contracts would ensue as a result of this advert. Before they do, it would be wise to critically assess all issues related to the attraction of work for the various industries.
This analysis would include the need for possible Constitutional amendments, the availability of necessary skills, or wage determination, for example. Thus, in the case of Constitutional amendments, the Chamber supports calls for a national discussion on the debatable clauses within a healthy environment.
The outcome of such a debate would then be implemented after agreement or consensus. This would serve to avoid similar misunderstandings if and when subsequent contracts ensue. The Chamber strongly believes that the time for such debate is more than opportune. After all, there seems to be general agreement in the country that the wording of the Constitution has been rendered unclear by the political changes which have taken place in the world since the last amendment.
There is no doubt that the foremost important principle in the Constitution is that referring to the most fundamental of values – work. Indeed, it spells out that Malta is a Republic based on work – a principle which is to be respected and supported equally by each worker, in all industries and in every sector across the Maltese economy.
(The above is the editorial of the March issue of the Commercial Courier published by the Malta Chamber of Commerce).