Id-diskors kontra l-prekarjat issibu kullimkien. Il-mistoqsija dejjem tibqa’: fil-verità, x’passi serji qed jittieħdu kontra l-prattika li timpjega n-nies b’ħarsien soċjali ineżistenti jew minimu, b’pagi baxxi, b’kondizzjonijiet tax-xogħol li jagħtu l-kontroll sħiħ lis-sid?
Il-problema tinsab kullimkien fl-Ewropa. Imma dan l-aħħar kelli niddubita kemm hemm rieda tajba biex tingħeleb. Saqsejt lill-Kummissjoni Ewropea kif tiddefinixxi l-prekarjat, li dwaru hi ħarġet aktar minn rapport jew tnejn.
Is-sorpriża kienet li l-Unjoni Ewropea m’għandhiex definizzjoni waħda, soda u ċara, ta’ x’jikkostitwixxi prekarjat. Saqsejt għat-tieni darba kjarifika aħjar ta’ kif l-UE tkejjel il-prekarjat. Fejn kont bqajt.
Kif tista’ tmexxi politika serja kontra l-prekarjat meta lanqas għandek moħħok ċar dwar fiex jikkonsisti tassew?
Ma nistagħġibx jekk fiż-żmien li ġej, ix-xogħol prekarju jibqa’ jinfirex. M’hemmx għalfejn ngħidu, sadattant ir-retorika kontra l-prekarjat tibqa’ tfawwar minn kullimkien.
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BARROSO
Il-bxara li l-eks President tal-Kummissjoni Ewropea Barroso sab impjieg bħala direttur ewlieni tad-ditta finanzjarja dinjija Goldman Sachs, qanqlet reazzjoni negattiva kbira. Barroso daħal għal dan ix-xogħol f’rispett tar-regoli tal-Kummissjoni, li eks-Kummissarju ma jsibx impjieg ta’ dat-tip qabel sena u nofs minn meta jkun ħalla l-Berlaymont.
Id-ditta li daħal fiha hi mitqiesa bħala perċimes fil-kriżi finanzjarja tas-sena 2008 u Barroso kellu rwol ċentrali fil-mod kif l-Unjoni Ewropea ttrattatha. Matul is-snin qala’ ħafna kritika fuq li ftit li xejn kien jieħu inizjattivi qawwija u sempliċement irreaġġixxa għall-ġrajjiet hekk kif inqalgħu. Ukoll li kien jinjora għalkollox id-dimensjoni soċjali tal-Ewropa.
Bil-ħatra ġdida tiegħu, Barroso donnu kkonferma li qalbu minn dejjem kienet mal-impriżi multinazzjonali l-kbar. Magħhom iħossu komfortabbli; lejn l-interessi tagħhom se jibqa’ jiġbed.
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SIĠAR
Ta’ min ifaħħarhom l-inizjattivi li qed jissemmew biex jitħawlu aktar siġar fil-pajjiz. Matul is-snin, ittieħdu inizjattivi bħal dawn minn gvernijiet differenti imma jgħaddi ż-żmien u l-proġetti li ġew varati jew ma rnexxewx jew ma żammewx ir-rankatura.
Fis-snin sittin, meta l-kampanja Maltija kienet għadha tixbah kampanja ta’ veru, proġett siewi ħafna kien it-twaqqif tal-ġnien li fakkar li John Fitzgerald Kennedy fis-Salini.
Fis-snin sebgħin, il-gvern Laburista ta’ dak iż-żmien kien għal numru ta’ snin ppromova skemi ta’ afforestazzjoni, bit-tħawwil ta’ siġar taż-żebbuġ u pjanti oħra addattati għall-klima tagħna.
Fl-aħħar snin, rajna sforz simili jitħabbar għaż-żona ta’ Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, biex ikollna bosk fejn qabel kienet miżbla. Ma tantx jidher li dal-proġett kellu wisq success. Sadattant, ħafna mis-siġar tal-palm ma’ kullimkien inqerdu minn marda li ma nstabx tarf tagħha.
Għandna bżonn ta’ strateġija ġdida biex l-afforestazzjoni tal-gżejjer Maltin titmexxa b’nifs tat-tul.
English Version – Precariousness
You get to listen to discussions against precarious employment all over the place. The question remains: in reality, what serious measures are being implemented against the practice of employing people while allowing theminexistent or minimal social protection, with miserable wages and work conditions that give full control to employers?
The problem can be discovered everywhere in Europe. However recently I had to doubt whether there is sufficient good faith to overcome precariousness. I asked the European Commission how it defines the phenomenon, about which it has published quite a number of reports.
To my surprise I realised that the European Union does not have one robust and clear definition as to what constitutes precarious employment. I asked again for a better clarification of how the EU recognizes precarious conditions of employment. This got me nowhere.
How can you run an effective policy against precarious employment practices when you have no clear idea as to what these really consist of?
I would not be surprised if precarious employment continues to spread. Meanwhile no doubt rhetoric against the practice will alsocontinue to prevail.
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BARROSO
The news that the ex-President of the European Commission Barroso is being engaged by the global financial firm Goldman Sachs as a front rank director, triggered a widespread negative reaction. Barroso took on the job without infringing Commission rules about how an ex-Commissioner cannot secure such employment until eighteen months have lapsed from his having left Berlaymont.
The firm he is joining is considered as a main player in the 2008 financial crisis and Barroso played a central role in shaping EU policy to deal with it. Over the years he was greatly criticised for not having been sufficiently proactive, simply reacting to events as they developed. He was also denigrated for having totally neglected Europe’s social dimension.
With his new role, Barroso seems to have confirmed the impression that he was always on the side of the big multinational corporations. With them he feels comfortable, and will go on backing their interests.
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TREES
The initiatives to plant more trees in Malta that are being mentioned can only be applauded. Over time, successive governments launched different programmes on the same lines that either were failures or lost impetus.
During the sixties of the previous century, when Malta’s countryside still looked like countryside, a worthwhile project was the setting up of a grove to commemorate John Fitzgerald Kennedy at Salini.
During the seventies, the then Labour government promoted for a number of years afforestation schemes, with the planting of olive and other trees that were adapted to local climatic conditions.
More recently, a similar exercise was attempted at Magħtab to replace a rubbish dump with a small wood. It would not seem that the project succeeded very well. Meanwhile, many palm trees were destroyed by an infection that could not be eliminated.
In the long term, we need a new afforestation strategy for the Maltese islands.
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