A group of lawyers want all pending cases before the Industrial Tribunal to be put on hold until independence and impartiality safeguards are in place and the set-up brought in line with the Constitution.

Lawyers, including those specialising in industrial and labour laws, contacted by the Times of Malta say the Industrial Tribunal is at a “stalemate” following last week’s Appeals Court judgment ruling it unconstitutional.

While some tribunal chairmen have opted to put off sine die the cases they were hearing to avoid the possibility of the awards being eventually overturned, others continued hearing the cases before them. This, according to the lawyers, was “worrying” once the Constitutional Court had raised doubts on the independence and impartiality of the tribunal.

“We are concerned about the decision of the latter group of chairmen who decided to continue hearing cases despite the anti-constitutionality concerns… so we are demanding that all cases involving our clients be put on hold,” a group of lawyers said in a letter to the Industrial Tribunal secretary.

When contacted, a spokesman for the Social Dialogue Ministry said proposed changes to the law governing the Industrial Tribunal were approved by Cabinet last Tuesday and were expected to be debated in Parliament on Wednesday.

The spokesman, however, stopped short of saying whether pending cases will be put on hold.

Last Friday, the Appeals Court upheld a decision by a judge who last year ruled that the Industrial Tribunal law was unconstitutional as it did not guarantee independence and impartiality.

Madam Justice Anna Felice had concluded that various articles in the law were in breach of the principle guaranteeing a fair hearing.

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The judgment was sent to the President and the Speaker for action to be taken to rectify the situation but the Attorney General appealed, although he was unsuccessful.

In 2008, two cases, one about an Enemalta Corporation employee who was not being allowed to work shifts and another in which the General Workers’ Union was accused of terminating the employment of former section secretary Josephine Attard Sultana had been referred to the Industrial Tribunal.

However, the GWU had argued that the tribunal chairman was “biased” towards one party in the proceedings, especially in cases involving a State entity, for the simple reason that the chairman was appointed by the government.

Following last week’s Appeals Court judgment, the Malta Employers Association said the Industrial Tribunal was not in a position to continue functioning.

The government and the Labour Party, on their part, blamed the previous administration and asked the Attorney General to prepare amendments to the law to strengthen the guarantees of independence and impartiality of the Industrial Tribunal.