While the president organises a ‘cruise for solidarity’, palace employees are having a hard time

I have received this email.

Dear Daphne,

Can you please investigate and publish what is going on inside the President’s Palace, re the staff. All I can say for now is that some 25 workers from the Enemalta power station have been lumped on existing staff. Just that may be nothing wrong, but what is happening is that the President, maybe under some pressure or agenda, is firing existing staff like there’s no tomorrow (using petty excuses) who have been working there for the last 10, 20 and even 30 years.

These are public service employees who are then sent to other departments, not fired as in having to go register with the ETC and look for another job, but it’s a trauma nonetheless, after all those years at the palace.

Furthermore, these Enemalta workers are paid much more than the palace workers for doing the same work, because they are on a much higher scale and get shift allowances etc, because they were promised that they will keep enjoying the same conditions they had at the power station. But worse still, they have taken over the running of the work, bullying, bypassing and ignoring existing staff, site foremen and people even further up.

All this goes on with the blessing of Her Excellency, who cannot not know what is going on.