Fl-aħħar jiem, qlielu l-istrajkijiet fi Franza. L-inkwiet soċjali hemm ilu jinħema. Issa ħa n-nar wara li l-gvern iddeċieda li jgħaddi liġi dwar ir-“riforma” tas-suq tax-xogħol, b’digriet għax kienet se teħel fil-Parlament.
L-unjins qalu li l-liġi qed timmina d-drittijiet tal-ħaddiema billi tagħmel l-ingaġġ u t-tkeċċija tagħhom eħfef għas-sidien. Il-gvern argumenta li b’dal-mezz, is-sid se jitħajjar jimpjiega aktar ta’ spiss u aktar ħaddiema. Illum joqgħod lura biex jevita l-piżijiet li jkollu jibqa’ jġorr jekk impjieg isir żejjed.
Ironikament, hu gvern soċjalista li qed idaħħal dil-liġi. Uħud jiftakru kif il-gvern soċjal-demokratiku Ġermaniż ta’ Schroeder kien daħħal sensiela ta’ miżuri tal-istess tip xi tlettax-il sena ilu. Rajt dimostrazzjonijiet tal-ħaddiema kontrihom fi Frankfurt.
Schroeder ippersista. Tilef l-elezzjoni ta’ wara. L-ekonomija Ġermaniża stejqret qatigħ. Minn dak iż-żmien, il-kanċellier tal-Ġermanja dejjem kienet maħtura mill-partiti tal-lemin.
Is-soċjalisti Franċiżi qed jissograw li tmisshom l-istess xorti?
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Proġetti kbar
Għandhom punt dawk li qed isostnu li t-tħabbir ta’ ħafna proġetti kbar f’salt mhux bilfors ħaġa tajba. U l-istess jekk it-twettiq tagħhom ukoll isir fl-istess żmien.
Politikament jistgħu jagħtu sentiment ta’ ottimiżmu — il-fattur “feel good”, għalkemm niddubita kemm dan għadu jaħdem wara l-frejjeġ bħall-proġett ta’ Smart City, fost oħrajn.
Hemm il-punt madankollu li ġieli jitħabbru proġetti kbar biex ikunu tħabbru u wara xi żmien jintesew.
Biex tgħaxxaqha, x’aktarx li m’għandniex min hu teknikament imħarreġ u oġġettiv biżżejjed biex jifli l-impatt ta’ proġetti hekk ħalli nifhmu sew minn qabel x’konsegwenzi se jġibu magħhom.
Kieku possibbiltà bħal din kienet teżisti, forsi konna nevitaw diżastri bħal ta’ Chambrai u ta’ Tigne li tarahom biss, iqanqlulek sens ta’ mistħija.
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Leħen is-Sewwa
Kien ili snin twal ma naqraha. Dil-ġimgħa fettilli nixtri kopja tal-“Leħen is-Sewwa” li issa qed tinbiegħ ukoll mingħand tal-gazzetti. Kellha produzzjoni pulita b’konċentrament fuq rapporti dwar attivitajiet ekkleżjastiċi, kif ukoll numru ta’ artikli li jittrattaw aspetti morali u soċjali tal-ħajja tal-lum.
Imkien ma sibt l-ispirtu aspru u polemikuż li niftakar fil-“Leħen is-Sewwa” li kont naqra għand nannti fis-snin sittin tas-seklu l-ieħor.
L-aktar ħaġa li ddiżappuntatni kienet din: niftakar tajjeb il-gwida li kienet tiġi pubblikata f’dak iż-żmien dwar il-films li kienu ħarġu għall-wiri, bl-ispjega ta’ għaliex il-films kienu jingħataw klassifika minn tajjeb għal kulħadd — għal adolexxenti — għall-kbar biss — għall-kbar b’riżerva — għal ħażin għal kulħadd.
L-aktar li kienu jinteressawni bħala tifel kienu l-ispjegi dwar films ikklassifikati fl-aħħar kategorija.
Imma l-“Leħen is-Sewwa” tal-lum m’għadux jippubblika gwidi tal-films!
English Version – Strikes in France
There has been a resurgence of strike activity in France recently. Social conflict has long been brewing there. Now it boiled over when the government decided to give effect to a “reform” of the labour market by decree, as it was bound to be defeated in Parliament.
The unions claimed the law would undermine workers’ rights by loosening rules covering the engagement and firing of workers by bosses. The government argued that in this way, bosses would be tempted to hire more frequently and hire more workers. At present they keep back from doing so as to avoid having to carry the financial burden when redundant employees have to be retained on the payroll.
Ironically the law is being passed by a socialist government. Some recall how the German social-democrat government led by Gerhard Schroederhad introduced a similar set of measures some thirteen years ago. In Frankfurt at the time, I witnessed workers demonstrating against them.
Schroeder persisted. He lost the following election. The German economy underwent a revival. Since then, the German chancellor has always come from the right.
Do French socialists run the risk of suffering the same fate?
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Big projects
Those who point out that the announcement of many big projects all at once is not necessarily a good thing, do have a point. It holds even more if the implementation of all such projects is targeted for the same period.
Politically they might generate a sense of optimism — the so-called feel-good factor, though I doubt whether this has remained operative following the fiascoes of projects like that of Smart City, among others.
Even so, one notes how sometimes, huge projects are announced, but once this is done, they are quickly forgotten.
To compound matters, we seem to lack personnel with the right technical training and the ability to remain sufficiently objective, who when assessing the impact of projects, understand in advance what consequences they will bring in their wake.
If they were available, we might perhaps have avoided such disasters as the ones at Chambrai and Tigne. Their very existence is a shame.
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Lehen is-Sewwa
Long years had passed since I last read it. This week I got the idea of buying a copy of “Leħen is-Sewwa”, for you can find it now on sale at newsagents. It had a good presentation with an emphasis on reports featuring ecclesiastical activities, as well as a number of articles dealing with moral and social aspects of contemporary life.
Nowhere did I find the acerbic and polemical style that I remember in the issues of “Leħen is-Sewwa” I used to read at my grandmother’s during the sixties of the previous decade.
However this is what disappointed me: I well remember the guide that used to be published in those days about films being exhibited in Malta. It would explain why these films were being given a classification that could range from fit for all, to fit for adolescents, adults, adults with reservations, and to banned for all.
As a boy I would be most interested to learn the descriptions given for films that appeared in the last category.
But today’s “Leħen is-Sewwa” does not carry a film guide! Not any more!
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