Archive:Public employment - Malta
This Statistics Explained article is outdated and has been archived.
- Source: Ministry of the Spanish presidency 2010, publication "Public employment in the European Union Member States" .
This article is part of a set of background articles and introduces the public employment in Malta.
Regional and administrative organisation
Introduction
The Republic of Malta is an insular country with a surface area of 316 km² made up of three islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino.It gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and became a Republic on 13th December 1974, whilst retaining membership of the Commonwealth. It joined the EU in 2004 and the euro area on 1st January 2008.
System of government
The Constitution of Malta, approved in 1964, stipulates that Malta is a democratic Republic founded on work and on respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual. From a political point of view, the Maltese Parliament is made up of a House of Representatives, whose 65 seats are elected by direct universal suffrage every five years, and a President, elected by this Chamber.
The Maltese Government is made up of the following bodies: the Office of the Prime Minister and eight Ministerial Departments.
Judiciary System: This is a system based on two levels: a Court of First Instance, presided by a judge or magistrate, and a Court of Appeal. There are also various courts with powers in specialised areas. In 1964, when Malta gained independence, the Constitutional Court was created, as a Court of Appeal in this area.
Regional organisation
From an administrative point of view, Malta is a unitary state with three regions that are in turn, subdivided into 68 localities or local councils, which are the only sub-national administrative entity, as there is no other intermediary entity between this and the national Government. These local councils are competent in areas such as health, administration and education. A Local Reinforcement System has been approved recently, which involves a significant devolution of power to Local Councils and which will lead to improved local services. An Association of Local Councils was created in 1994, whose aim is to represent all local councils on the archipelago and promote their common interest.
Public Administration
Values: The Public Service Act was enacted in order to affirm that Public Service values are a tool to satisfy common interest, and must be applied for the functioning of the public and private sector. The values are as follows:
• Exercise the powers invested in them by Law and provide public services in a courteous, professional and impartial manner.
• Provide objective and precise information on issues within their competence.
• Implement government policies effectively and efficiently.
• Contribute towards the coordination of government policy among its departments, agencies and other government entities and with Local Councils.
• Contribute, through its own conduct, to make their workplace recognise talent, develop capacities and skills, reward good practice, eliminate discrimination and offer a safe environment.
In this Act, “Public administration” is defined as the organizational body that encompasses the Government of Malta, including its Ministries and Departments, and agencies, governmental entities, and other commissions that are established in this Act. It also indicates that “Public Employee” includes civil servants and employees of government agencies and other governmental entities. For certain benefits, public employees shall also be considered to be those who have retired or resigned during the first three years. Judges, magistrates, the ombudsman, commissions for the protection of data or the members of the Electoral Administration, among others, are excluded from this condition.
Agencies: Government Agencies are created by Law or on the Prime Minister’s order.
This order should indicate:
• Functions and obligations of the agency;
• Assigned Ministry;
• Financial resources available;
• Special agreements adopted in relation to the agency.
All state agencies have their own legal status different to the entity that created them and to which they are accountable. They also have full capacity to enter into contract, recruit personnel, bring legal action or be sued, as well as any other function entrusted to them.
Public Employment Structure
Regulation: The Maltese Constitution includes some definitions related to public employment:
• “Public Office”: all positions paid from the state budgets and part of the public service.
• “Public Officer”: The holder of any public office.
• “Public Service”: all functions exercised by the Government of Malta in a civil capacity.
Public service includes the functions of employees in the Superior Courts of Justice, General Auditor’s and Deputy Auditor’s Office, magistrates of the Inferior Courts and members of the Police Force.
It does not include functions performed by the Prime Minister, Ministers, Parliamentary Secretary, Speaker, Members of Parliament, Ambassadors, High Commissioner s or other similar corps set out be law.
The Members of Parliament Act (also known as Public Service Act) was approved in 2004. It defines public officers under the same terms as the Constitution. In this regulation, a public employee’s function in the civil services shall not exceed a salary scale, Level 6, or any other salary that is determined at a specific moment by means of a House of Representatives resolution.
Public Service Model
Organization. The Minister is the Head of Department and manages and controls its structure, agencies and entities. Cabinet members, ministers and advisers occupy positions of trust under an employment contract, even though they are civil servants. The Prime Minister approves the principles, functions and establishment of the Cabinets, as well as the legal status of their staff. These are managed by a Cabinet Head, who is responsible for reporting to the Minister. The Ministerial Department is an organization with its own powers and consists of the following bodies:
• Cabinet of Ministers and Cabinets for each parliamentary secretary, responsible for assisting the Minister.
• Permanent Secretary’s Office.
• Divisions, boards, sections, offices and other units within the public sector that support the Prime Minister in a specific Ministry.
Leadership: There is a Principal Permanent Secretary who heads the Civil Service under the instructions of the Prime Minister. His/her main duties are:
1. Support leadership in the Civil Service and promote the public administration values, as well as compliance with the Ethical Code.
2. Adopt measures to enhance the provision of public services and assume responsibility for human resource management within the Department.
3. Adopt coordination measures between Departments, agencies, entities and local councils, so that the Basic lines of the government are followed; manage and supervise permanent secretaries and set their performance objectives.
4. Advise the Prime Minister on matters related to the public service and sector in general, as well as any other function assigned by law.
5. There should be a Permanent Secretaries Committee, presided by the Principal Permanent Secretary and comprising of all the Permanent Secretaries. Meetings of this Committee shall be called by the Principal Permanent Secretary at least once every three months. There should also be a Higher Executive Service, headed by the Principal Permanent Secretary, comprising of:
• Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments;
• Senior Civil Servants in each Ministry responsible for the management of corporate services, the application of efficiency indicators, coordination of European Union issues, among others.
The Merit Protection Committee has the following functions:
• Control the recruitment of employees in the Government Agencies and other governmental entities to verify their lawfulness.
• Suggest reforms to directives and guidelines related to the public employment of the Principal Permanent Secretary as well as promoting their application.
Statistics: In Malta, 41 000 people are employed in the public sector, of which 70 % work for the central administration. Their status is regulated by a collective bargaining agreement which sets the salary level and employment conditions. Other aspects of the job in each category are established in specific agreements.
Around 30 % of public sector employees work for government agencies or other public law entities. Each entity defines the employment conditions of its staff based on a collective bargaining agreement. Efforts are being made to harmonise conditions at central level to avoid excessive disparities between the status of employees in these entities. Each public sector employee shall be assigned to a position in a Civil Service Department, to perform duties corresponding to his/her grade or position.
The number of senior civil servants in Malta is 302 (Data: November 2008). The number of senior civil servants at each functional level: 1 Principal Permanent Secretary, 11 Permanent Secretaries, 31 Director-Generals, 108 Directors and 151 Assistant Directors.
The number of men and women in senior positions is 239 males and 63 females. The percentage of women amongst civil servants in general is 41 %. The percentage of women amongst senior positions is 21 %.
Rights, obligations, principles and values
The Public Service Management Code lists the duties of public sector employees. A Code of Ethics, which applies to public sector employees and to most agency employees, also defines other duties. Public sector employees can join unions. Most employees have the right to strike, except for some personnel categories mainly in the healthcare field. Freedom of speech for Senior Civil Servants is subject to certain limitations and it aims to allow continuity in office regardless of the changes of government that may occur.
Code of Ethics: Within the framework of a set of key principles, it is worth mentioning public trust, service to the public sector, responsibility, productivity and flexibility and competence, serving citizens fairly and justly. They must provide impartial and accurate advice to the Government and implement its policies promptly, efficiently and effectively. They must also innovate, improve productivity and simplify procedures and contribute to the growth of the national economy. For this, they will make use of information and communication technologies as an essential tool for the improvement of the public administration and the provision of services and they must ensure that they obtain the necessary skills.
Conflict of Interests: A conflict of interest may be defined as a situation in which a public employee has sufficient private or personal interest to influence the objective performance of his/her public duties. Therefore, public employees must avoid any financial or other interest or undertaking that may directly or indirectly compromise the performance of their duties. Public employees must notify the head of his/her organization in writing within a week of any conflict of interest that may arise. For example:
A. Acceptance of Gifts or Benefits: No public employee may accept gifts or services that may create an obligation or dependence.
B. Personal or Professional Behaviour: Public employees must perform the duties associated to their position diligently, impartially and to the best of their ability. In the performance of these duties, they must:
a) Keep up to date with advances and changes in their area of expertise and comply with all of the legislative requirements.
b) Treat members of the public and other members of staff with courtesy and sensitiveness to their rights; provide all possible assistance to members of the public; maintain adequate documentation to support decisions adopted.
c) Not to indulge in favouritism or nepotism and not to take advantage of official information gained in the performance of their duties.
C. Fairness and Equity: issues being considered by public employees should be dealt with consistently, promptly and fairly. This means acting in accordance with the legally established procedures. When using any discretionary powers, public employees should ensure that they take all relevant facts into consideration and have regard for the particular circumstances of each case.
D. Use of Official Information: A public employee should only disclose official information or documents acquired in the course of his/her employment when required to do so by law. They may not accept a job in the private sector if the tasks to be performed are related to information acquired during the course of a public position.
E. Use of Official Facilities and Equipment: Public employees should be scrupulous in their use of public property and services, and not allow their abuse by others. Official facilities and equipment should not be used for private purposes unless expressly authorised to do so.
F. Political Participation: Public employees must ensure that their participation in political activities does not bring about a conflict with their primary duty in the civil service. This is important to maintain public confidence in the impartiality of the administrative actions.
G. Sanctions: Sanctions will be applied to public employees if this Code of Ethics is breached. The sanctions applied will depend on the seriousness and nature of the breach and shall entail disciplinary or criminal action as applicable.
Career-Based System. Training
There is the possibility of civil servant mobility between ministerial departments. These transfers shall be approved by the Principal Permanent Secretary or the person to whom this function is delegated. The Minister for Public Administration shall be responsible for defining the entry requirements to each category, as well as the rules for promotion.
Promotion is possible via two mechanisms:
• Passing internal competitive exams (written exam and interview).
• On a selection basis.
Remuneration
Public sector employees have a grade with a salary scale defined by collective bargaining agreements. The salary of certain categories of public employees is established by law:
• President of Malta: 50,906.13 €, effective from 1st January 2009. 53,456.79 €, effective from 1st January 2010.
• General Lawyer: 36,361.52 €, in 2009. 38,183.09€, in 2010.
• Director of the Public Service Commission: 12,611.23€.
• Deputy-President: 9,522.48€ and other members: 8,525.51€.
Social dialogue and system of representation
The trade unions, grouped together within the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions, play a major role in collective bargaining negotiations, which govern the working conditions and pay scale of public sector employees and agency personnel. The employer is represented by the Minister of Finance (Principal Permanent Secretary), the Prime Minister’s Office (Permanent Secretary), a mixed negotiation team, the collective bargaining unit and the Maltese Association of Entrepreneurs. Public employees will be represented by the main union organizations:
Issues subject to collective bargaining include:
• Working conditions (working hours, holidays, leave, etc).
• Human resource related measures.
• Equal opportunities and non-discrimination.
In Malta, the main characteristics of social dialogue are inspired on the British model. Social dialogue is centralised up to the point that there is a special body, the Council of Malta for Economic and Social Development, which serves as a forum for social dialogue. Furthermore, the civil servants’ right to strike is regulated, but with some restrictions for judges, members of the armed forces, police, fire-fighters and others.
Senior civil servants
Status and Positions: The Directives and Guidelines on Performance Agreements define the term “senior manager” as: those holding senior management appointments within the top 5 salary scale. This definition will be superseded by the Public Administration Bill, which will formally establish a “Senior Executive Service” within the public service. There are some special conditions established for the SCS group. (Summary Table):
Recruitment and Appointment: The Recruitment system for senior civil servants is used to attract personnel with special skills to certain qualified posts. This type of staff may be recruited from the public or private sectors. Appointments to senior management posts are mainly selected from Senior Public Officers in the Maltese public service. Under the Constitution, the President appoints the Permanent Secretaries (the top civil servants in each ministry), on the advice of the Prime Minister, and after consultation with the Public Service Commission. Directors-General and Directors are appointed by the Prime Minister after consultation with the Commission. Assistant Directors are appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the Public Service Commission.
Management: The Principal Permanent Secretary (head of the Public Service) has general responsibility for the management of top civil servants, subject to direction by the Prime Minister. The Public Service Commission, an autonomous constitutional organ, gives advice or makes recommendations for the appointment of top civil servants. However, the management of top civil servants lies within the competence of the Administration. There is a Permanent Secretary in each ministry. The Heads of Departments (Directors-General and Directors) report to the Permanent Secretary of the respective ministry.
Assessment: Malta operates a performance management system, in which the work of civil servants is measured on the basis of meeting annual targets.
Training: The Staff Development Organisation within the Office of the Prime Minister uses a number of training strategies to address the various needs arising from its role. This centre organises training classes, participative workshops, private classes and tutorials; subsidises Master degrees and, in collaboration with the Institute for Public Administration and Management at the University of Malta, it organises a Diploma in Public Administration. Future plans to enhance senior management development include initiatives such as e-learning and blended learning with other countries of the European Union. Furthermore, with the establishment of the new Centre for Policy Research and Training, senior management training will be aligned even more with government policy and vision.
Remuneration: Salaries are pegged to the salary scales in the financial estimates according to the position held. The performance appraisal for each civil servant then gives up to a maximum of 15% of his/her salary.
Diversity Policy: Recruitment procedures are aimed at identifying the best person for the job, regardless of gender, age or any other characteristics that are not relevant to the job. The current recruitment criteria are intended to be age and gender-neutral.
Work-Family Life Balance: In Malta, all civil servants have access to work and family life conciliation measures. However, senior civil servants are not allowed to reduce their working hours or take extended periods of unpaid leave. Women are entitled to maternity leave for absence from work for a period of not more than 14 weeks. Men, on the other hand, are only entitled to two working days of leave.
Mobility: Senior public officers can apply for promotion to higher-level management positions in any Ministry or Department. At this level, career management is considered primarily the responsibility of each civil servant.
Recent reforms and prospects
The training centres and procedures are currently undergoing a period of change and consolidation. The Centre for Policy and Training will be managed in conjunction with the University of Malta. The goal is to create a tailored structure for training public sector employees and propose training courses at local level. The first draft of the Civil Service Law was drawn up in 2008, offering solid foundations for the civil service, defining a clear ethical framework for the development of an effective public service.
The Maltese government has been investing massively in new technology since the beginning of the nineties. E-government (on-line access to administrative documents) and M-government (access to documents via mobile phones) programs have been developed. Over 95% of administrative documents are now accessible on-line and the government has signed partnership agreements with Microsoft and Hewlet Packard. On the other hand, the Government is also developing services accessible from mobile phones. Citizens can already consult summons before the courts, exam results, renewal of permits and licences, etc. It should soon be possible to inform citizens by text message on issues such as whether their children are at school or not, whether there is an urgent need for blood donors or on bus timetables.