Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/565097
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 SEptEmbEr 2015 5 Continued from page 1 Sciclu- na served as the Vatican's chief prosecutor in abuse cases up to 2012 but last week the Maltese archdiocese told MaltaToday that questions on the Gozo case should be referred to the Gozitan curia. Malta and Gozo are distinct di- oceses, each with its own admin- istration. Since 1864, the diocese of Gozo has been led by a bishop, whilst the Maltese archdiocese is led by a metropolitan archbishop, who does not have any jurisdic- tion over the diocese of Gozo. Scicluna yesterday added that every case, irrespective of how it was addressed in the past, must now be dealt with. "This is my commitment and I am sure that it is the commitment of the Gozo Bishop as well. It is important that decisions taken by the Bishops and the Vatican not only see that justice is served but that children, youths and the vulnerable are safeguarded," Sci- cluna said. In its brief reaction, the Gozo diocese told MaltaToday that it is "unable for confidentiality rea- sons to comment on individual cases". The Gozo Church added that, in all cases of alleged abuse by pastoral functionaries on mi- nors, the protocols set by both canon and civil law are ac- curately followed. "Since its inception in February 2015, the Church Commission for the Safe- guarding of Children and Vulnerable Adults has been advising the Diocese of Gozo in all safeguarding children matters," it had added. Grech's dithering has raised doubts on his lead- ership within certain quar- ters of the clergy and Mal- taToday is informed that a number of priests have directly called for his res- ignation. News C M Y CM MY CY CMY K MFSS Newspaper Ad ENG15x12.pdf 1 31/08/2015 14:08 opposition leader mum on charges against francis Zammit dimech miriam dalli OppOSITIOn leader Simon Bu- suttil has ignored questions sent to him over a report by MaltaTo- day that revealed that national- ist Mp Francis Zammit Dimech was among eight facing charges of involuntary homicide. The questions were sent to the pn leader on Saturday morn- ing and remained unanswered by the time this report went to print on Tuesday evening. MaltaToday has sought to elicit comments from Busuttil on whether he had discussed the matter with Zammit Dimech and whether the Mp would con- tinue to fulfil his duties as Mp and as the party's spokesperson for migration. MaltaToday also asked Busut- til whether it was a source of concern that a member of his parliamentary group was facing charges of involuntary homi- cide. The questions however re- mained unanswered. Zammit Dimech was non-exec- utive director of Seabank Hotel and Catering Limited when 27- year-old Maksims Artamonovs died during the construction of the Seabank hotel in Mellieha. In his limited public reaction to the case, Busuttil turned the tables onto the Labour govern- ment's misdemeanours. Zammit Dimech has been charged alongside Seabank Ho- tel owner Silvio Debono, CEO Arthur Gauci, B&B Construc- tion owner Angelo Bartolo, B&B Holdings and Investments gen- eral manager Etienne Bartolo, structural engineer pierre Far- rugia, architect Robert Sant and Rueben Gatt. Curiously, in the police's charge sheet, the opposition Mp was listed as Francis Zammit. How- ever, the police's media relations office confirmed that "the name in the charge sheet is correct". The Mp is no longer a director and legal representative of Sea- bank Hotel and Catering Ltd af- ter resigning his post upon being appointed foreign affairs minis- ter in January 2013. pointing out that he was not directly linked to the Latvian man's death, Zammit Dimech had told MaltaToday that "no- body on the board of directors was directly responsible for what was happening on the construc- tion site." He had added that it was now up to the courts to "objectively" decide on the "nexus," or link, and the level of responsibility between those charged and the tragic events which caused the man's death. Simon busuttil ignores questions on involuntary homicide charges pressed against opposition mp Francis Zammit Dimech in connection with fatal construction incident Opposition leader Simon Busuttil (left) did not say whether he will be taking any action against Francis Zammit Dimech (right) Archbishop Scicluna says abuse must be 'tackled' at all costs Bishop Mario Grech (right) with Archbishop Charles Scicluna Tribunal to blacklist businesses breaching labour laws from public contracts tribunal with power to blacklist employers who resort to precarious employment practices comes into effect today matthew Vella COMpAnIES breaching public procurement regulations or the Employment and Industrial Re- lations Act could be liable to be- ing blacklisted for between six months and two years, with the coming into force of Legal notice 68, published on 6 March. Since the legal notice was issued, a Commercial Sanctions Tribunal has been established within the Finance Ministry, with the com- petence to blacklist contractors at fault from participating in govern- ment public procurement. "This measure, aimed at guaran- teeing decent working conditions for all workers, pre-empts a Euro- pean directive on public procure- ment which is yet to come into force. Employers who resort to precarious employment practices will find an unwavering response by the government," finance min- ister Edward Scicluna said. The Tribunal is chaired by Den- ise Vella, with former Chamber of Commerce president Reggie Fava and former High Commissioner to the UK, Richard Matrenza as members.