Xogħol Prekarju

Il-probabbiltà kbira qed tkun li x-xogħol prekarju fostna jiżdied qiegħed, mhux jonqos. U mhux biss fir-rigward tal-ħaddiema barranin mill-Afrika jew il-Lvant Nofshani. Il-prekarjat qed jaffettwa wkoll ħaddiema/impjegati Maltin, speċjalment żgħażagħ.
L-aqwa sinjal ta’ dan jingħata mill-mod kif il-preżenza tal-unjins fil-postijiet tax-xogħol privati baqgħet tiċkien. Mingħajr unjins attivi u preżenti, hu inutli tistrieħ fuq servizzi statali biex jilqgħu għall-esplojtazzjoni. Ma jistgħux ikopru l-oqsma kollha tal-ħidma ekonomika, speċjalment f’impriżi li joffru servizz.
Terġa’, bil-kultura tal-flessibiltà fuq il-postijiet tax-xogħol li fl-aħħar żewġ deċennji, forsi aktar, ġiet żviluppata, iddaħħlet mentalità li l-prekarjat hu norma tal-ħajja. L-idea li persuna ddum snin twal fl-istess impjieg saret titqies bħala antikalja. Kull ftit taż-żmien, il-ħaddiema jridu jidraw jibdlu x-xogħol li jagħmlu.
Issib min irid jikkonvinċik li mhux biss din ħaġa meħtieġa, imma wkoll ta’ ġid, għas-soċjetà u għall-ħaddiem innifsu. Għaliex le?! U ħalluna.
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ABORT
Carmel Caccopardo tal-AD għamel tajjeb li qajjem għad-diskussjoni s-suġġett tal-abort li sa issa għadu tabu fis-soċjetà tagħna. Mhux għax ma jiġix prattikat. Hu prattikat u dejjem kien; imma kull diskors dwaru jitpoġġa minn kulħadd fil-limbu tal-prattiċi l-aktar moqżieża, bħall-kannibaliżmu.
Ħafna fil-Parlament Ewropew, u mhux is-soċjalisti biss, ma jistgħux jifhmu kif minn Malta jibqa’ jintwera das-sentiment. Waħda mit-tweġibiet tiegħi għall-iskantament li niltaqa’ miegħu b’dan, hi li tant hu profond li anke l-Ħodor jistqarruh. Milli jidher mhux se nkun nista’ nibqa’ ngħid hekk issa.
Fir-realtà hemm ħafna ipokresija fil-biċċa. Minn banda niskandalizzaw ruħna b’aħbar dwar tifla ta’ ħdax-il sena li biex iħarsulha ħajjitha. għamlulha abort wara li stupraha xi ħadd mill-familja tagħha. Mill-oħra, ilkoll nafu b’aborti ta’ Maltin li kellhom imorru Sqallija jew Londra ħalli jiġu operati.
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LIBERALIŻMU
Id-dibattitu li tqanqal dan l-aħħar dwar xinhu l-liberaliżmu u x’ġid jew deni għamel, kien interessanti u konfuż. Kif nafha jien, hemm tliet kurrenti kbar li jissejħu “liberali” fil-Punent. Deherli li ħafna mill-konfużjoni tqanqlet mill-fatt li mhux kuħadd kien jitkellem fuq l-istess kurrent.
Fl-Istati Uniti, l-“liberaliżmu” hu “xellugi” – ideoloġija li lesta tintervjeni fis-suq ħieles b’miżuri statali, regolatorji u aktar – speċi ta’ soċjaliżmu demokratiku stil Ewropew.
Fl-Ewropa, l-liberaliżmu jemfasizza l-ħtieġa li l-bniedem fis-soċjetà għandu jkollu kull dritt għall-awtonomija u ħelsien f’imġibtu, bl-istat jiggarantixxi l-awtonomija u ħelsien personali taċ-ċittadin, imma f’qafas ta’ suq ħieles, fejn l-istat ma jindaħalx.
In-neo liberaliżmu, kif prattikat kullimkien, jemfasizza s-suq ħieles akkost ta’ kollox. Isostni li fil-qafas tiegħu, id-drittijiet taċ-ċittadini u l-aħjar ġid tas-soċjetà kollha se jkunu awtomatikament imħarsa.

English Version – Precarious work

It is highly probable that instead of being in decline, precarious employment in Malta is on the rise. Which applies not just for foreign workers coming from Africa or the Middle East but equally for Maltese job seekers, especially young people.

What signals this most clearly is that the presence of unions at workplaces in the private sector has continued to shrink. Without active and well established unions, it is futile to rely on government action to counter exploitation. State agencies cannot cover all sectors of economic activity, not least services oriented enterprises.

Moreover, given the culture that during the last two decades if not more, has served to promote flexibility at workplaces, a mentality has arisen by which the idea that a person should stay for long years in the same job is considered outdated. Ever so often, workers have to get accustomed to change the job they hold.

There are those who seek to convince you that not only is this way of doing things necessary; it is also beneficial to the society at large, as well as to individual workers. Indeed, why not? Come on.

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Abortion

AD’s Carmel Caccopardo has done well to put up for public discussion abortion, a subject that has remained taboo in our society. This is not because it does not happen here.

Of course it does and always has. But all discussion regarding the practice has always been relegated to a limbo where only the most disgusting forms of behaviour, such as cannibalism, can come up for review.

Many in the European Parliament – not just socialists – cannot understand how this sentiment still prevails in Malta. In the face of the astonishment provoked there by this state of affairs, my stock reply has been that the anti-abortion sentiment is so ingrained in the Maltese situation, that even the Greens share it. It seems like I won’t be able to use this argument any more.

Actually the situation is underpinned by massive hypocrisy. On the one hand we express scandal at foreign news items about an abortion on an eleven year old girl who was raped by a member of her own family. On the other hand we all know about Maltese women who had to go to Sicily or London to get an abortion.

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Liberalism

The debate which was being conducted recently about liberalism – its merits and demerits – was interesting if confused. As I know it, there are three major currents of thought that in the West, go under the label of “liberal”. It seemed to me that much of the confusion resulted from the fact that not everybody was referring to the same “current”.

In the US, “liberalism” is “left-wing” – an ideology that allows for intervention in the free market with state measures, by way of regulation and beyond – a kind of social democracy in the European sense.

In Europe, liberalism emphasizes the need for a person in society to be able to enjoy fully the right for personal autonomy and freedom in his/her life, with the state guaranteeing this but in the context of a free market, from which the state itself remains aloof.

Neo-liberalism as practised everywhere, emphasizes the importance of the free market at all costs, period. Its claim is that within such a framework, the rights of citizens as well as social wellbeing are automatically guaranteed.