Category: Mediawatch

In full markbiwwa.com style of course. (We dig the style. We plagiarise. We acknowledge). Here goes the roundup of Monday Morning Blues & News.

1. BLACK CAB fury

The UHM has come out in support of the black cab taxis after it was announced that new regulations would prevent them from using the special bus lanes. The black cab taxis are right of course (I never thought I’d say this). The use of fast lanes by taxis is common in most major cities in Europe and I can see no reason why Malta should be the exception. Still more bad planning? Big Yellow Taxi

2. LAWYER TO BE PAID to watch DVDs

It’s not exactly a permanent job, neither is it a dream job but lawyer Joseph Mifsud has been appointed by the court to watch a collection of DVDs that were found in the possession of David Gatt who still stands accused of being involved in an HSBC heist. Apparently the collection includes The Godfather and “films by Bruce Lee”. All in a day’s work eh? Kung Fu Fighting

3. ARRIVA service normalising

It would seem that eight days into the launch – and once the Bus Driver Plot has been thwarted – Arriva’s service will be running on time in most places. Arriva has been obliged to subcontract minor routes for the time being. If the action of the Renegade Bus Drivers was not a sanctioned strike then I would not be surprised were Arriva to sue for damages and losses caused by the disruption. Sabotage

4. In the Net

Labour will experiment the umpteenth revamp of the notoriously error-prone Maltastar.com under the guidance of Evarist Bartolo. Meanwhile Andrew Azzopardi has added his blog to the increasing list of blogs by “old media” pundits. The signs all point to the Maltese MSM belatedly discovering the utility of blogs and blogging. Undoubtedly presence on the net will be even more crucial come next election – we wonder what role an evolved Facebook will play by the time the heat is turned up. Don’t Believe the Hype

5. Sanctioning the Illegal

Finally, the Times reports that plans are underway for MEPA to sanction a number of illegal boathouses in St Thomas Bay and Dwejra. This kind of news is always baffling and frustrating. The “legalisation” of illegally built property is an insult to the law-abiding citizen and an affront to society. Do we care? Bah. I fought the Law?

*IMAGE NOTE: The accompanying image is of Gaetano Scirea. In this day and age when the image and memory of the recently departed are being used as a smokescreen by cowards to hide from their objective responsibility we choose to put up the image of a model footballer who never failed in his line of duty and was an example to all. Storia di Grande Amore

Scirea non telefonava a Bergamo e Pairetto, ed a giocato e dato la sua vita al calcio ed alla Juventus. Quando sputi e spari menzogne sulla nostra maglia insulti un grandissimo uomo come Scirea.

JU29RO

The ARRIVA tsunami continues. The “teething” problems are being dealt with and I am also told that Austin Gatt gave a good performance on Dissett (still got to find time to watch that one on streaming). One of the big deals in the ARRIVA saga has been the issue of working time for the bus drivers. The 57 who tried unsuccessfully to cause a major strike had a gripe about “split shifts” and there were also a number of figures being bandied about with regard to salaries and hourly payments.

Luxembourg’s l’Essentiel has carries an article today about coach drivers for private companies who are complaining about their work conditions. The first comment was a shocking reminder of the arguments made last Saturday by the renegade workers: “The other day I started work at 04.45 and ended at 16.4.5. I got paid as though I had worked 8 hours.” The monthly salary for a private coach worker is 2650€ and the article claims it is 800 or 900 euros less than public service drivers in Luxembourg.

The problem, it seems, is working time and what counts as work and what is not. In their case, the Luxembourg private coach drivers complain that hours waiting for delayed planes at airports are not factored into their salary.

Whether it is Luxembourg or Malta that we are talking about the dignity of the worker is at stake. The question really is one of defining what constitutes working hours and how they are to be calculated. Companies like Arriva who operate in multiple EU countries (UK, Germany, Greece) cannot have the luxury of ignoring EU legislation. It’s one thing denouncing ridiculous demands such as those seen last Saturday, it is another to abuse of a worker’s right to a just salary and proper working hours.

LUXEMBOURG – Les chauffeurs de bus des compagnies privées avouent leur détresse et déplorent leurs conditions de travail

«L’autre jour, j’ai pris mon service à 4h45, j’ai terminé à 16h45. Le tout a été payé comme si j’avais travaillé huit heures». Joël (son prénom a été modifié) et ses collègues n’en peuvent plus de leurs conditions de travail.  Et de leurs salaires. Avec plusieurs années d’ancienneté au compteur, Joël émarge «à 2 650 euros par mois, on a des écarts de salaires de 800 ou 900 euros avec les chauffeurs de la ville de Luxembourg».

Qui plus est, les journées sont longues. «En moyenne, on a une amplitude de 11h30, et il faut y ajouter les trajets entre la maison et le travail. Et on ne nous paye que 40heures par semaine. Sur les transferts depuis l’aéroport, il arrive qu’on attende deux ou trois heures, si un avion a du retard. Ces heures ne sont pas payées. Bien sûr, on peut toujours laisser le bus et aller au café, mais ce n’est pas l’objectif».

Tant qu’à ne pas être payés, les chauffeurs préféreraient passer ce temps «libre» chez eux. «Et j’ai déjà enchaîné plusieurs semaines de six jours de suite, je n’ai jamais vu les jours de récupération auxquels j’ai droit. Ce n’est pas humain ce qu’on vit. Pourquoi tout le monde a le droit de travailler huit heures, et nous, on a juste le droit de crever dans nos bus».

Jérôme Wiss

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We’re in our 7th year of blogging and the fourth one of our Sunday column and we like to think that J’accuse has had a rather consistent “editorial line” throughout this time. When I started blogging I chose “la verité si je mens” as a sort of motto for J’accuse. “The truth, if I lie” is an apparent contradiction picked up from a social commentary comedy film by the same name that pictures the world of the “tunsian-jews”. We later appended another motto – “ludendo castigat mores” – he makes light of serious values. I still like to believe that J’accuse remains an outlet of personal opinion and commentary on current events and beyond.

Dedicated readers will have noticed that my position on national politics is one that insists on the importance of proper representation and as a corollary points out the inadequacies and drawbacks of the bipartisan grasp on local politics. In other words we dish out deserved criticism to whoever falls within the line of fire of our argument. It is with huge disappointment that I still find that my blog is seen as a vehicle of “the PN” or “the PL” by some parts of the reading world. There could be a reinforcement of my original thesis here since anyone who is groomed to think in PLPN terms will only be able to be “hurt” by criticism of “his party” without seeing the wider picture of why the criticism is there in the first place (and by ignoring the fact that the criticism is meted out to other parties too).

The latest manifestation of the pigeonholing of J’accuse into “the other side” (a relative term) was on Saturday’s l-orizzont. A geezer by the name of Joe Fava had this to say:

Dan il-fatt lampanti, jiġifieri li llum GonziPN tilef kull nitfa ta’ kredibbiltà huwa aċċettat minn kulħadd. Saħansitra anke opinjonisti anti-Laburisti sfegatati bħal dak li fil-ġurnal The Malta Independent on Sunday, l-għaxqa tiegħu jakkuża b’kull malformità politika lill-PL u biex jikkopja lill-awtur famuż Franċiż Emile Zola jintitola l-kontribuzzjoni tiegħu J’accuse (jien nakkuża), kellu kontra qalbu jistqarr li l-opinjoni pubblika tant irriġettat lil GonziPN u tant qiegħda temmen lil Joseph Muscat, li kieku xi ħadd jgħid li Joseph Muscat ivvinta t-‘toaster’ u l-‘washing machine’, jemmnuh ukoll!

Whatever drugs this guy is taking should be distributed freely to the sad and bored of the land. J’accuse is not an anti-laburist, nor is it an anti-nazzjonalist. It is anti-bipartisan opiates. Incidentally Joe we acknowledge openly the Zola inspiration and we like to say that we are not copying the words but the spirit of J’accuse. It is evident that you have not noticed how the fact that the people are currently in gullible mode with regards to Muscat was not a complement nor a grudging acknowledgement. It was part of a wider argument that claimed that Muscat has gained such trust (if trust it is) through deceit and abdication of political responsibility.

Sfegatati we may be. But our tireless quest is the age old one shared by philosophers of old and young thinkers of new. As some friends commented on facebook there are good conclusions to be drawn out of this. Two in particular:

1. if ‘re getting it from both sides it means you’re doing something right! (M. Tortell)
2. There are worse things in life Jacques!! … Either one of them could be calling you ‘friend’… (C. Cassar Torregiani)

Q.E.D.