Labour decries favouritism at Transport Malta

A serious audit was required at Transport Malta, where favouritism was pervasive and having an effect on the authority’s efficiency, Labour MP Helena Dalli said yesterday morning.

In a press conference, the party’s spokesman on the public sector mentioned a number of examples of favouritism, starting with the appointment of unqualified people in senior management positions while more qualified employees languish in lower grades.

In one example, Dr Dalli mentioned, a person with just one ‘O’ level exam was appointed to head a section, even though clerks required advanced level certificates. She also noted that a number of senior managers were appointed even though they had no qualifications and little experience, adding that their political allegiances were well known.

The MP also decried the way responsibility allowances – of up to €630 a month – were being paid out to TM employees. The practice had become wasteful over time, she said, since people whose responsibilities were reduced through the restructuring process which merged all transport regulators into TM retained their allowances.

She also alleged “psychological violence” against a number of workers, stating that TM would take away their responsibilities and leave them idle for weeks on end.

Dr Dalli also insisted that a number of people were abusively being recruited as highly-paid consultants when they reached retirement age. She stressed that she did not object to doing so in the case of people whose contribution was still valuable, but added that some were being recruited because of who they knew, and not because of their abilities.

These practices, the MP said, have led to bad decisions being taken at the authority. She quipped that “sprinters were being led by those barely able to walk,” and that this had an obvious effect on the authority’s efficiency.

She called for a serious audit to take place, adding that a future Labour government would take up the matter if the present government did not.

Dr Dalli also warned that contracts of those who were not qualified for the top posts they held would not be renewed, with the posts awarded to qualified people in a meritocratic manner.

She said that political discrimination was taking place at TM, although she noted that even Nationalist Party supporters were being affected for the benefit of people with better connections.

Some employees could also be redeployed elsewhere within the public sector, Dr Dalli said, although when asked, she stressed that dismissals were not foreseen. More employees were needed in some areas of the public sector, she said.