§ 18. Mr. Awberyasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that claims made by the civil servants of Malta in 1956 have not yet been considered, and that this delay is causing resentment among this section of Government employees; and if he will take steps to have these long standing claims settled by joint negotiations or through arbitration.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodThe claims referred to by the hon. Member were submitted to a Commission whose recommendations were not accepted by the Malta Government of the day.
All civil servants in Malta have since then received an interim pay increase of 6 per cent. in 1957 and, following an Agreement negotiated with the Staff Associations in November, 1959, revised salaries, retrospective to 1st April, 1959, were introduced for all Malta Government civil servants, subject to negotiation in detail. These negotiations are now in progress.