No deal yet on wages policy

The social partners yesterday failed to reach agreement at the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development on a wages policy - a core issue in their report aimed at enhancing competitiveness.

Another meeting is scheduled for today.

An agreement on the wages issue is considered to be crucial for striking a social pact between the government, employers and trade unions.

Yesterday's meeting started at 3.30 p.m. and ended at around 9 p.m. with the parties involved agreeing to meet again today in what was described yesterday as a "do-or-die" attempt to hammer out a deal. There has been hope that agreement could be reached before the budget is presented on November 24.

But unless talks are successful today they will probably be postponed to early in the new year, as next week's MCESD meeting is about the proposed electricity surcharge and the budget and Christmas season then follow.

Sources said a lot of bargaining and haggling took place yesterday, but the only progress made was a concession from employers that cost-of-living increases would continue to be given across the board.

Employers had been suggesting that the increases should no longer be given to all workers, but only to minimum wage earners. The unions opposed this proposal.

The employers also want public holidays falling on the weekends to be forfeited and those falling during the week shifted to Monday. The GRTU wants to see a reduction in the number of public holidays and all the employers are insisting on a reduction in the overtime payment rate.

These proposals are also being rejected by the unions which, at best, are only indicating they are prepared to accept the shifting of public holidays to Monday or Friday.

In their common positions, employers and unions want the government to commit itself not to increase or introduce direct or indirect taxes during the operative period of a social pact.

They want priorities to be drawn up when considering proposals for new capital projects and they propose that a cost benefit analysis of each project should be made and discussed in the MCESD before it is approved.

Employers and unions want the government to present a report on the benchmarking of self-employed persons for income tax purposes and call for such benchmarking to be made within three months of a social pact coming into force.

The two also suggest there should be a change in the law forcing those registering for work to undergo full-time training.

There are divergent views between employers on certain issues. For example, the reduction of public holidays seems to be more fundamental to the GRTU and the Federation of Industry than it is to the Employers' Association. The GRTU is also not very keen on the benchmarking exercise that is being proposed by the other parties. Unions appear to be closer to a common policy but they too are not unanimous.

It is not clear to both unions and employers what the government intends to do about tax and other issues. Apart from wages, there are a number of other pending matters, such as the revision of the students' stipends system.