Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1459407
11 Unity SUNDAY 13 MARCH 2022 Prof. Andrew Azzopardi Dean, Faculty for Social Wellbeing OUR social sector is becoming in- creasingly complex. We do not think about social policy as an isolated segment of public policy anymore, but as an integrated course of action linked to all aspects of our social wellbe- ing, ranging from the economy to environmental issues, from trans- portation to climate change, from institutional correctness to com- munity development. Because of all of this, a phenom- enon that we saw unravelling be- fore our eyes during these past few years was the number of govern- ment ministries taking on angles that are relevant to our social pol- icy. This in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. But we all know how politics works in Malta and this situation has only, ultimately, en- couraged the creation of more silos, and in some cases, even fortress thinking. Not only, some issues... take as an example 'gen- der-based and domestic violence', have been dissected to the extent that they are being addressed by two, sometimes even three min- istries, which only serves to add to more confusion and weakened response. To be quite honest, with all the ministries and parliamentary secretaries sprouting like weeds, and with political decisions taken solely on the basis of appeasing a partisan political strategy, it on- ly makes it even more difficult to converge all these interests. However, there might be a way of merging the cause without up- setting the apple-cart. We currently have the following: the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Mental Disorders; the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women; the National Com- mission on Active Ageing; the Commission for Refugees; the Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence; the Commission for Children; the Commission for Voluntary Or- ganisations; the Commission for Animal Welfare; the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Dis- ability – amongst other entities and councils that have similar rai- son d'être or could potentially do so. The current situation is that most of these commissions have different operational models, different lines of accountabili- ty, different conditions of work, governed by different legislations, SOPs, polices and procedures. Some are run by full-times, others not, some have been there forever and their voice is hardly recog- nisable, some are in awe of 'their' minister, others are independent thinkers. Some are practically dead wood and others are active and leave an imprint on our so- cial policy. Some of the people in these commissions are political appointees whilst other are clearly competent and in fact leaving an indelible mark. Well, it's complete bedlam. I believe that the work of these commissions and prospective impact is mostly going to waste. Once again, we have entities building a fortress social policy that is hypothetically in isolation from the link to ongoing social proceedings. I will spare the em- barrassment of giving examples but it is both clear and logical that all the commissions listed above should be working conjointly if proper and real effectiveness is warranted. Following the general elections a new government could provide us with a sterling opportunity to solve the problem of a sporadic and isolated social policy once and for all. A new government provides us with a golden opportunity to bring in an integrated approach by get- ting the commissions streamlined by 'falling' under one legislation with a common modus operan- di. They can be brought together physically under one roof and an- swerable to Parliament. Not only, they should have an overarching structure that sees to recruitment, training, policy de- velopment, research analysis and all the works. There would be a chair who heads a council that sits these entities together. Such a procedure will get these offices working together similarly to the way the Ombudsman's office op- erates. Moreover, the biggest benefit of this transversal structure is that it will divorce the commissions from the politicians, some of whom are more interested to make hay while the sun shines and milk the pho- to-ops, than really taking on board the serious issues at stake, all of which need to be handled urgently and expediently. Finally, this structure will be in the best possible position to act as a 'whip' for government and to insist that state agencies take on their duties and responsibilities, whilst also bringing all the social partners together. There is a WAY we can MAKE social policy work... Do you know how many Commissions Malta has? It's bedlam, and it's time to streamline their modus operandi "I believe the work of these commissions and their prospective impact is mostly going to waste" Solutions while those mainly 'not so satis- fied' were the unemployed (34%) and homemakers (34.3%). Again, those who earn the most naturally registered very high lev- els of satisfaction with their finan- cial situation: 73% of those paying the highest tax rate said they were 'very satisfied' with their financial situation. And while general sat- isfaction rates were over 60% for most socio-economic groups, it was the group in the 25% tax band that registered the highest rate of dissatisfaction (37% in total), fol- lowed closely by the 15% taxpay- ers (36%). And clearly, the lowest wages or lack of financial security is preva- lent in Gozo: here 43% said they were 'not so satisfied' with their financial situation. Work: study hard for a job you like Again, high satisfaction rates for work and career across Malta clock in at an overall 80% rate. Curiously, the level of dissatis- faction ('not so satisfied') can be seen growing from 9.4% for the 26-35 age group, steadily across all age groups to 24.5% for those 56-65, before this drops to 0% at pensionable age: perhaps, less work is better? What is sure is that education is a key to both financial satisfaction but also job satisfaction: radical differences were clearly evident here, with tertiary-educated re- spondents saying they are 'very satisfied' (43.1%) with their jobs, compared to 0% of primary-edu- cated people; the latter even reg- istered the highest level of dissat- isfaction with their jobs (60%). This finding perhaps shows clearly that highly-educated re- spondents find it easier to access jobs that provide long-term career mobility or higher-salaried and motivational careers, compared to lower-skilled respondents. A further degree of satisfac- tion is found among the self-em- ployed, wit 63.8% saying they are 'very satisfied' with their job, sug- gesting how a high level of control on management and finances al- lows people to influence their ca- reer progression. Job satisfaction is also closely linked to wages and salaries. High earners who paid the highest rate of tax were the ones most likely to say they were 'very satisfied with their job at 73%.