Rent reform: standing up for cohabiting and gay couples

Evarist Bartolo

Mary has been cohabiting with Joseph for nearly 40 years. She would have liked to marry him after her husband abandoned her and moved to Australia, where she has not been able to trace him. She has tried to marry Joseph but before she can do so, she has to provide proof that her husband has died. Otherwise she can be accused of bigamy.
Mary is now getting worried that she will end up homeless if Joseph dies before her, as the landowner has told her that he has rented the flat to Joseph and she has no right to stay there. She has been telling me to speak up for her in the rent reform legislation being discussed in parliament.
I had persons like Mary in mind when I spoke in parliament last Monday on the rent bill. The week before, Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg attacked the Labour Party for speaking in favour of the need to introduce measures in the new rent legislation to protect the rights of cohabiting couples and gay partners in long-term relationships.
Using a very offensive, cynical and derisory tone he poured scorn over the Labour Party’s demand. He asked whether the Labour Party was advocating a cohabitation register, and did it want to help a person who decided to cohabit after being widowed?
Why is Dr Borg so shocked? He was already a member of parliament more than 10 years ago when the Nationalist Party solemnly declared in its 1998 electoral manifesto (point 194) that it would enact a law to establish rights and obligations between a man and a woman who had formed a cohabiting relationship. More than 10 years have passed, and the Nationalist Party has not kept this promise. Had this promise been kept, there would be no need now to call for measures to protect the rights of cohabiting couples in the new rent legislation.
Dr Borg’s sarcastic and cynical tone on gay couples was in stark contrast to what the PN told gay people during last year’s electoral campaign. Representatives of the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) had met a delegation of the PN. During that meeting the PN had expressed itself in favour in principle of a newly proposed European Union (EU) directive against discrimination of gays and other minorities. In line with this proposed EU directive, the MGRM had submitted a list of proposals to all the political parties before the March elections, but the most important for them had been the regulation and legal protection of gay couples as enjoyed by married heterosexual couples, even when it comes to housing.
But now that the election has passed the PN government has changed its tone and its stand and is maintaining that the EU directive against discrimination is still premature, and that a long time of serious study and consideration is needed before incorporating such a directive in Maltese law. But at the pre-election meeting with the MGRM the government had said it was in favour of such a directive.
Malta needs legislation on civil partnerships of cohabitating or gay couples. Otherwise these persons are going to be deprived of the full equality of rights they are entitled to as citizens in our society.
Among those who supported Malta’s accession to the EU had been many who saw this as an opportunity to open up our society to civil liberties that we are still deprived of, and the elimination of discrimination and strong social prejudices against minorities like gays. Last March an EU report had said that Malta was one of seven countries in which protection from discrimination against homosexuals existed only in employment legislation.
The report, which urged that such protection be extended to other areas, specifically housing, had also said there existed no machinery in Malta for such protection. Government has still to take steps to set up such a structure.
It is no excuse to resist the EU directive against discrimination on the grounds that Malta is a traditional society, and that habits and mindsets have to change before we accept such civil rights legislation. When it came to introducing legislation to eliminate racism and discrimination against disabled persons, the PN government said that laws help to change culture and mentalities. The same argument applies now when it comes to cohabiting couples and gay partners in a long-term relationship.

Article published on Malta Today on the 25th January 2009.

Studenti jipprotestaw ghall-anonimità fl-ezamijiet

Ghadd ta’ studenti wrew it-thassib taghhom u pprotestaw permezz ta’ emails u permezz tas-sit elettroniku Facebook, wara li aktar kmieni din il-gimgha rcevew minghand il-fakultà taghhom li minn issa ‘l quddiem, fl-ezamijiet mhux ser jibqghu jintuzaw iktar index numbers, izda minflok l-istudenti jridu jiktbu l-isem, il-kunjom u n-numru ta’ l-identità fuq il-karta ta’ l-ezami taghhom.

Numru ta’ studenti, fosthom mill-fakultà tal-ligi, kkuntattjaw lill-Ufficcju tar-Registrar biex jinghataw assigurazzjoni li l-anonimità taghhom tkun rispettata u li l-ezaminaturi ma jkollhomx access biex ikunu jafu ta’ min hi l-karta li qeghdin jikkoregu.

Is-sistema li kienet tithaddem sas-sena l-ohra kienet dik li l-istudenti jiktbu index number minflok isimhom fuq in-naha ta’ fuq tal-karta ta’ l-ezami, liema parti tkun maqtugha qabel tinghadda lill-ezaminatur.

L-index number kien ikun maghruf biss mill-istudent, filwaqt li l-ezaminatur ikun jista’ jara biss numru iehor li jkun inghata mis-segretarji tal-fakultà.

Bil-procedura l-gdida, l-istudenti issa se jkunu mitluba jiktbu l-isem, il-kunjom u n-numru tal-karta ta’ l-identità minflok l-index number fuq il-parti ta’ fuq, li tkun maqtugha.

Dawn l-ilmenti kollha min-naha ta’ l-istudenti wasslu biex l-ufficcju tar-Registrar johrog stqarrija biex iserrah mohh l-istudenti li din il-procedura se tassigura l-anonimità taghhom waqt l-ezamijiet, li bdew il-bierah, filwaqt li ghandha twassal biex jithaffef ix-xoghol tas-segretarji u jonqsu problemi ohra li kienu jinqalghu meta l-istudent kien jiehu zball fl-index number tieghu.

KullHadd talab il-kummenti tal-Kordinatrici tal-Edukazzjoni fi hdan il-KSU, Daniela Bartolo, li filwaqt li stqarret li din il-procedura l-gdida mhix ser taffettwa l-protezzjoni ta’ l-identità tal-istudenti, minhabba li l-karti ta’ l-ezami xorta wahda se jkunu nnumerati mis-segretarji tal-fakultà, ikkonfermat li ghad hawn credits fejn l-e?aminaturi jkunu jafu l-isem ta’ l-istudenti.

“Personalment iktar ihassibni l-fatt li ghad hemm credits fejn ma jigux assenjati office numbers, jigifieri li l-ezaminaturi jkunu jafu l-isem tal-istudenti. Din ghadha ssir f'xi fakultajiet u digà bhala KSU, ghamilniha cara li dan ma jistax jibqa’ jsir ghal numru ta' ragunijiet.”

Qbil dwar diversi temi bejn il-FZL u l-KSU

Matul laqgha ta’ djalogu u konsultazzzjoni bejn il-Forum Zghazagh Laburisti (FZL) u ‘l-KSU (Kunsill Studenti Universitarji) b’tema d-drittijiet ta’ l-istudenti, hareg bic-car l-importanza li l-istudent ghadhu jigi kkonsultat aktar u mpoggi fic-centru tat-tehied tad-decizjonijiet bhala shab indaqs. Il-KSU stqarr li jaqbel li r-rapprezentanza tal-lehen studentesk fl-istituzzjoni universitarja ghandu jissahhah filwaqt li jtenni l-importanza li tissokta ‘l-hidma sabiex il-ghanijiet, il-kwailità u l-istandards hekk kif mfassla fil-Process ta’ Bologna, jintlehqu bl-oghla rata ta’ success possibbli.

F’sensiela ta’ laqghat ma’ ghaqdiet taz-zghazagh u dawk studenteski dwar il-kampanja imnedija mill-FZL favur id-drittijiet tal-istudenti, M’initex biss numru (Not just a number), qed jinhass l-importanza li jithares id-dritt ghall-lecturers kkwalifikati u ddedikati li jkunu prezenti matul is-sena akkademika kollha u ta’ ghajnuna ghall-istudenti barra il-hin tal-lezzjoni. L-KSU minn naha tieghu qal li qieghed iheggeg riforma fil-qafas tal-Matsec li ghanda twassal ghall-pass f’din d-direzzjoni u jara bidla fis-sistema tar-revizjoni tal-karta ta’ l-ezami, fejn bi dritt l-istudenti jkollhom access ghar-revizjoni tal-karta ta’ l-ezami. Hareg car ukoll li l-KSU jaqbel mall-propositi tal-FZL fil-harsien u l-infurzar ta’ qafas ta’ zmien hekk kif stipulat li fih jigu ppubblikati r-rizultati ta’ l-ezamijiet.

Il-KSU wera qbil mad-dritt li jkun hawn fierxa aktar wiesgha ta’ korsijiet fuq livell part-time u evening-classes ta’ l-ewwel lawreja, fl-livell undergraduate, u dawk li jwasslu ghal specjalizzazzjoni, b’korsjijiet li jkunu jafu jgharfu jzewwgu aktar ‘l-linja teorika ma’ dik tal-prattika. Dan jista’ jsehh permezz ta’ sehem aktar attiv ta’ studenti gradwati li jkunu qed jissoktaw l-istudji taghhom fl-livelli oghla, b’kooperazzjoni shiha mall-korp docentesk, b’hekk jaghtu sehemhom fit-tahrig moghti mill-Università u jiksbu esperjenza fil-qasam.

Il-FZL u ‘l-KSU jilqghu b’soddisfazzjon is-sinjali ta’ rieda ta’ hidma fi hdan l-ufficju tal-Ombudsman filwaqt illi jemmnu fl-importanza u l-irwol aktar ewlieni li ghandu jinghata lill-hidma ta’ dan l-istess l-ufficju, fejn l-istudenti jkollhom aktar gharfien tal-fakultajiet ta’ din l-istess istituzzjoni, li taqdi proprju l-ghan li thares d-drittijiet tal-istudent. Z-zewg ghaqdiet jirrikonoxxu ‘l-passi ‘l-quddiem li qed jiehdu xejra aktar hajja fl-Unviersità, b’investiment aktar estiz u intenziv fl-infrastruttura u fir-rizorzi materjali universitarji, kif ukoll b’inizjattivi innovattivi, bhal dik tal-pjattaforma elettronika tal-E-sims kif ukoll tad-Degree Plus, liema skema theggeg u tagevola l-gharfien, ‘l-formazzjoni u l-abbiltajiet prattici tal-istudenti.

Fl-istess direzzjoni u favur il-harsien shieh tad-drittijiet tal-istudenti, l-KSU varat l-inizjattiva Int tilmenta... int takkwista! fejn l-istudent huwa mheggeg jsemmha lehnu u jara li drittijiethu ma jigux mittiefsa. Il-FZL u ‘l-KSU sahaqu l-importanza ta’ sehem aktar attiv fil-hajja studenteska universitarja li ghanda twassal ghall-partecipazzjoni estiza u tassew hajja mhux biss fl-istruttura akkademika izda kif ukoll fi hdan dik ta’ l-ghaqdiet u tal-bosta attivitajiet li tassew jsawwru l-hajja studenteska universitarja.