Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1037786
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 OCTOBER 2018 6 SUNDAY 'sermons' by both po- litical leaders tend to be boring and repetitive but serve in pro- viding us with insights on the political strategy adopted by the two political leaders. While Muscat has turned backtracking in the face of dis- sent into a virtue of his style of government, Delia has given an awkward twist to the teachers' dispute by linking it to his per- sistent and over-riding concern on the influx of foreign workers. Delia's speech on Sunday was wide-ranging and touched on a number of issues, only margin- ally hinting at the dispute be- tween teachers and government which was mainly addressed by shadow minister Clyde Puli. But he could not have ex- pected that small part of his speech dedicated to the dispute to go unnoticed. His claim that government may undermine teachers' working conditions by importing Bangladeshi and Pakistani teachers was simply too crude to be ignored by the media. "Why doesn't the government care about teachers, the guard- ians of our future?" Delia asked. "The government is treating teachers with a lack of respect, just as it is doing with bus driv- ers. Will it do like it did with public transport and bring in 300 teachers from Pakistan or Bangladesh? Is that how our children are going to end up?" Instead of addressing the con- cerns of teachers who fear a loss of status and increased pre- cariousness, Delia chose to link their apprehension to the un- related issue of foreign workers taking jobs in Malta. This suggests that Delia is making a deliberate effort to frame a narrative in which the apprehensions of different cat- egories about change are linked to an over-riding concern on foreigners. The problem in this case is that Delia's fear mongering seems far fetched. Teachers have to be proficient in the Maltese language even when employed as supply teachers (temporary teachers who do not have the full qualifications). The need to be proficient in Maltese acts as an impediment which militates against foreign- ers, even from within the EU, taking teaching posts in Malta. Sure enough Delia's willing- ness to address the challenges posed by a sudden influx of for- eign workers does not turn him into a racist or a xenophobe. What is problematic is the way he expresses this sentiment. Delia's own choice of ethnic- ity to underline the threat feeds on popular prejudice. He did not refer to the risk of import- ing Italian or British teachers. He chose to single out Pakistani and Bangladeshi teachers. This fits with his recent dis- tinction between EU and non- EU workers which feeds on the concern that is related to the loss of our Christian and Eu- ropean identity, which is at the heart of Delia's own political message. For it remains unclear whether Delia's main concern is the loss of Maltese identity or more tan- gible concerns on sustainability issues and social impacts. Delia can frame a legitimate argument by focusing on the risk of underpaid foreign work- ers being used as "a reserve army of labour,"which can undercut the conditions of other workers. This is so since foreign work- ers – especially those living here alone far away from their own family – may be more flexible and accommodating to em- ployers in matters like shifts. Delia's reference to Pakistani and Bangladeshi bus drivers would make sense if these are undercutting the conditions of other workers in the same sec- tor. But the Malta Public Trans- port has always insisted that the remuneration of employees is governed by a collective agree- ment signed in 2016 with UHM, irrespective of their nationality. If this is the case; what is the problem of being driven by a Pakistani driver? Neither can one ignore short- ages in essential services like healthcare which also depend on foreigners, some of which have been working here for dec- ades. This raises the question; beyond the sound bite what is Delia exactly proposing? Will he ban non-EU workers from working here or will permits be issued on a sectoral basis? One may well argue that prob- lems related to foreigners creat- ing a cheap reserve of labour are best addressed by clamping on precarious working conditions irrespective of the nationality of the workers involved. Moreover, it is the current economic model – partly based on construction and sectors like gaming – which constantly need a growing foreign working force at both ends of the labour mar- ket. This raises the question; is Delia merely questioning the prevailing economic model or is he simply grumbling about its inevitable consequences? It is arguable whether Delia was aware that his comment would generate controversy. Perhaps Delia is hoping that his jibes are shot down by both government and the media, and even by internal critics in his own party, in a way that voters start perceiving him as a victim of the political correctness asso- ciated with elites. Muscat's withdrawal method In stark contrast with Delia's more divisive pitch, Muscat was busy reaching out to the teach- ers' profession to mend fences after a week of wrangling which had its inevitable consequence in some of his supporters using the social media to denigrate teachers. This follows a familiar pattern which sees Muscat de- fusing tension after having con- tributed to the escalation. In fact, Muscat was speak- ing after the Malta Union of Teachers cancelled a strike fol- lowing the government's with- drawal of a bill which accord- ing to the MUT made warrants conditional on continuous as- sessment. On Friday the MUT was caught off-guard by Muscat who offered to withdraw the bill if teachers cancelled the strike. He did so while union officials were negotiating with the Min- istry for Education. In this way Muscat took back the initiative from the union leaving the un- ion with little option but to can- cel the strike especially when the government proceeded to with- draw before the strike was even cancelled. Yet the threat of a strike trig- gered a barrage of negative com- ments against teachers through an electorally strategic category which Muscat himself had taken care to nurture before the 2013 general election. In many ways Muscat's speech on Sunday was meant to undo the damage done by some of his NEWS ANALYSIS Sunday sermons: Teachers and Pakistani Why is Muscat so involved in defusing conf lict with teachers and why is Delia so keen to persist on clutching at the migration issue? JAMES DEBONO tries to find some answers lowing the government's with- drawal of a bill which accord- ing to the MUT made warrants conditional on continuous as- On Friday the MUT was caught off-guard by Muscat who offered to withdraw the bill if teachers cancelled the strike. He did so while union officials were negotiating with the Min- istry for Education. In this way Muscat took back the initiative from the union leaving the un- ion with little option but to can- cel the strike especially when the government proceeded to with- draw before the strike was even Yet the threat of a strike trig- gered a barrage of negative com- ments against teachers through an electorally strategic category which Muscat himself had taken care to nurture before the 2013 In many ways Muscat's speech on Sunday was meant to undo the damage done by some of his to go unnoticed. His claim that government may undermine teachers' working conditions by importing Bangladeshi and apprehensions of different cat- egories about change are linked to an over-riding concern on foreigners. ing Italian or British teachers. He chose to single out Pakistani and Bangladeshi teachers. This fits with his recent dis- tinction between EU and non- EU workers which feeds on the concern that is related to the loss of our Christian and Eu- ropean identity, which is at the heart of Delia's own political message. For it remains unclear whether Delia's main concern is the loss of Maltese identity or more tan- gible concerns on sustainability issues and social impacts. Delia can frame a legitimate argument by focusing on the risk of underpaid foreign work- ers being used as "a reserve army of labour,"which can undercut the conditions of other workers. This is so since foreign work- ers – especially those living here alone far away from their own family – may be more flexible and accommodating to em- working here or will permits be issued on a sectoral basis? One may well argue that prob- lems related to foreigners creat- ing a cheap reserve of labour are best addressed by clamping on precarious working conditions irrespective of the nationality of the workers involved. Moreover, it is the current economic model – partly based on construction and sectors like gaming – which constantly need a growing foreign working force at both ends of the labour mar- ket. This raises the question; is Delia merely questioning the prevailing economic model or is he simply grumbling about its inevitable consequences? It is arguable whether Delia was aware that his comment would generate controversy. Perhaps Delia is hoping that his jibes are shot down by both government and the media, and It remains unclear whether Delia's main concern is the loss of Maltese identity or more tangible concerns on sustainability issues and social impacts