A parliamentary debate was launched yesterday on a “temporary solution” that would enable the Industrial Tribunal to keep on functioning following the recent Constitutional Court’s ruling that it did not guarantee independence and impartiality.

Opening the debate, Social Dialogue and Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli said the employment law amendments being proposed included a guarantee for the security of tenure of the tribunal members, changes to the practice whereby the tribunal asked for legal advice without the parties’ knowledge, and permitting appeals on points of fact.

Moreover, the Employment Relations Board would be involved in the appointment of the tribunal’s chairman.

Radical changes should not be carried out in an effort to address an emergency by means of a temporary measure, Minister Dalli said.

However, the government was willing to consider proposals up to the conclusion of this legislative exercise.

Radical changes should not be carried out in an effort to address an emergency by means of a temporary measure- Minister Helena Dalli

In fact, consultation was carried out last Tuesday with the Employment Relations Board, and some of the proposals that emerged would be included at the commit-tee stage.

She remarked that the previous administration had been lethargic in carrying out the necessary reforms, even though it had reports in this regard.

One such report, entitled ‘Modernising the Labour Law to meet the challenges of the 21st century’ was sent to the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development in 2010.

Minister Dalli took exception to Saturday’s article in the Times of Malta by Andrew Borg Cordona, one of the authors of the report, in particular his comment that the current administration was “a bunch of clowns caught napping”.

She said that employment law amendments had been promised in the administration’s electoral manifesto and work was carrying on.

However, the debate on union recognition had dragged on longer than envisaged, leading to the suspension of the work that was being carried out on the changes to the employment law.

On behalf of the Opposition, Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said that the Bill did not address the impartiality and independence requirements of the Industrial Tribunal as indicated by the Constitutional Court, a view that was also shared by the constituted bodies and experts with whom he had discussed the matter.

The Opposition was seeking to contribute to the best legal amendments, and he referred to his offer last November in this regard. He cautioned against creating a tribunal that was not constitutionally sound, in particular within the current labour scenario that included the situations at De La Rue and Air Malta.

Should the current proposals be enacted, the government was risking a constitutional challenge, defeating its efforts to find a way out of the current impasse.

At the opening of yesterday’s sitting, the Speaker ruled that the Opposition’s private member’s bill on judicial appointments required the President’s assent to be debated, since it was a money Bill. Dr Mifsud Bonnici also ruled that the next Thursday meeting was a government business day.