Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1458198
OPINION 12 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 9 MARCH 2022 A solution is long overdue THE past legislature has made me cross paths with numerous pensioners who are reasonably disgruntled after suffering years of injustice. These people are con- scious that this weight they carry has an impact on their lives and dignity. They are very frustrated, and rightly so, having been denied what they are due for so long. And the more you speak to pen- sioners, the more you realise how right they are. Thousands of them had their rights breached due to a law which was enacted in 1979 under then Prime Minister Dom Mintoff. Because of Mintoff's decision, many people have been denied a service pension even after serving Maltese soci- ety. Mintoff's excuse for the legislation was that no person should receive more than one person. But this cannot be jus- tified, since these people are entitled to a social contribution pension and a service pension, having contributed to both. The subject pensioners of my article (known as tas-Servizz) include those who left their government employment to work in the private sector and those who were paid by the British govern- ment and who are similar to civil service employees but whose wages were paid by the British government. These workers numbered in the thousands and hence developed into a substantial problem as soon as the British left Malta. These al- so included physicians and professionals who left their country to work for the Maltese government. In the meantime, no Maltese govern- ment has developed a solution for this injustice with pensioners following the introduction of this notorious law. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the National Association of Service Pensioners (NASP) which was formed about 10 years ago. There is al- so the British Civil Service Association, which is another association which com- prises thousands of members and which had influenced then Labour leader Al- fred Sant to find a remedy for this law. A proposal had been included in Labour's 1996 election manifesto. But while Sant had understood the pensioners' con- cerns, he had little time to work on the proposal due to a short-lived govern- ment of 22 months. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi then continued to try and solve the impasse. For the first time, this category of pen- sioners could see the light at the end of the tunnel since they had the first Prime Minister who recognized their pleas. This recognition developed into an ad- justment of Lm200 in their favour. Some of the pensioners had already passed away by then and these pension- ers were not really compensated in com- parison to what they were entitled to in fact. Due to the economic recession, af- ter the adoption of the Euro, the Lm200 remained €200, which dealt yet another blow to an already modest adjustment. In fact, following pressure, Labour's Minister of Finance Edward Scicluna in the ensuing legislature, had clearly stated that about a €40 million budget would be needed to address this injustice. Following years of abuse of public funds, I am only compelled to ask, are we going to continue denying these pen- sioners their rights? Six years ago, the NASP took their case to the European Parliament, where they asked for the arrears and extended their plea to the Attorney General, and later the Court of Justice of the European Un- ion. Both these entities expressed an opin- ion which favoured the NASP and whose opinion is based on European legislation. These pensioners are still fighting for their rights to this very day. Justice can only be served if they are given their dues together with all arears. Only then, we would have a government that listens in practice and understands pensioners, especially those amongst them who are experiencing poverty. In fact, one of these pensioners in- formed me that more than €50,000 have been denied them to date. Is this how we are rewarding pension- ers who were in service for our country? Is there no portion of the famous surplus which could be used to settle dues with these pensioners? Given the allocation of many thousands of euros for direct or- ders to a select few, can we continue to ignore citizens who are suffering from injustices created by their own country? This is the worst form of discrimina- tion which is being ignored by those who should lead by example. This approach by the government clashes with its pompous and unfounded claim to being a defender of pensioners. We need a solution to remedy the dis- crimination and injustices carried out by our country since 1979. I am more than certain that should the Nationalist Party be entrusted with governing this coun- try, a new Nationalist government will not continue to ignore this problem, as this government has insisted on doing for the past eight years. Ivan Bartolo Ivan Bartolo is a Member of Parliament for the Nationalist Party Is this how we are rewarding pensioners who were in service for our country? Is there no portion of the famous surplus which could be used to settle dues with these pensioners?