The GSD says that it will not take any lessons from the GSLP-Liberals on what does or does not give ammunition to the Spanish Press or Spanish Politicians and that the Chief Minister appears to have forgotten that we live in a democracy where it is the duty of Opposition parties to hold the Government to account and to do so on behalf of the people.

Mr Picardo seems to have conveniently forgotten the participation of his own Members of Parliament in the Antena 3 Espejo Publico program, giving vent to allegations which have ultimately proven to be false and which led to the producers of the program labelling the Dr Giraldi Home as 'the House of Horrors'.

The Opposition is entitled to raise concerns, as indeed have Environmentalists, about the safety risks of the proposed LNG bunkering facilities on the North or Detached Mole. That is what Oppositions do, in the discharge of their duty to hold Governments to account.

The Opposition will be making available to the public the expert opinions on the subject which it has obtained in the near future and notes that the Government has not yet published its own safety reports on the matter, despite being determined to proceed with the project.

The suggestion that the Opposition should keep quiet about these unacceptably high risks because politicians in Spain might ask questions is an absurdity out of keeping with a modern and vibrant democracy".

Trevor Hammond

GSD chairman

05-05-15 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR

Foreign Office thinks Gibraltar is an island

May 05, 2015

The Foreign Office is advertising a top job that requires 'excellent research and analytical skills and strong academic background', no doubt essential requirements to fathom out why Gibraltar has suddenly become an island.

Well, that is what the FCO calls Gibraltar, 'the island's long-standing sovereignty dispute...'

And when will the mandarins realise that Gibraltar has no sovereignty dispute with anyone, it is Spain which has concocted a sovereignty dispute with Gibraltar, after having ceded it 'forever'.

There are some people at the FCO who should not apply for this job, because clearly they are not apt for it...

05-05-15 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR

Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar

May 05, 2015

Dear Sir,

I was somewhat surprised by the comments of Mr Beltran former government minister in your edition of the 28th April.

I wish to think that the present government's desire to refer to itself as 'Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar' is a reflection of a protectionist mentality.

I believe that the rejection by the citizens of Gibraltar of the joint sovereignty proposal by the British government in 2002 justifies the people's desire to be part of Her Majesties dominion.

Yours Faithfully,

Manuel Sanchez

05-05-15 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR

Local artists qualify in pre-selection

May 05, 2015

The Minister for Culture, Steven Linares, says he is delighted to announce that the artworks submitted to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition by local artists Karl Ullger and Shane Dalmedo, have qualified for the final round in the pre-selection.

The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2015, now in its 247th year, receives well over 12,000 entries, of which only 2,000 have been chosen to qualify for the final round.

The Minister offers his heartiest congratulations to Shane and Karl, and wishes them the best of luck for this final round.

05-05-15 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR

Social media is no replacement for social action, says Michael Netto

May 05, 2015

THEN AND NOW

People need to stop using social media in order to let off steam and direct their complaints to the unions who can do something to remedy them.

This is the opinion of Michael Netto, whose efforts in the union movements have been second to none in the community, especially during May Day celebrations.

Netto started getting involved in the unions leafleting households to inform the public leading to his participation in the first real general strike for workers' rights and conditions in 1972. "Whereas nowadays we have internet, when I was 16 I would go with brother and father handing out leaflets door-to-door about any issue which the union at the time wanted to highlight," he said.

He stepped up his participation in the unions after finishing his studies at the technical college, where he remember the festivities at this time of the year: "The May Days of those years were done in the Regal Cinema where issues of the public and private sector were highlighted through films and documentaries that described the military coups in Chile or the strikes in England.

"However, the conditions of workers, both in Gibraltar and the rest of Europe were not what they were today. Even with the economic crisis now, they aren't as degrading with very little consideration for health and safety or employment rights back then."

For workers

He recalled a May Day in the 1980s which he spent picketing the South Depot of the MoD's Department of the Environment where a UK duty manager with a very colonial attitude tried to run over one of the union's shop stewards: "Everybody was saying that unless that guy wasn't set back to the UK we wouldn't start work and even though the MoD didn't shift him immediately, he was moved to the North Depot before finally being sent back after a couple of months."

Netto, who headed the Trade and General Worker's Union (TGWU), constantly fought the GSD's decision to move May Day to the first Monday of the month, as along with its successors, Unite the Union, they felt that what was being celebrated were all the past victories for all our workers.

"We take for granted the 40-hour week, health and safety, maternity and paternity rights which among 1001 things have been achieved through union struggles all over the world," he continued. "Gibraltar has still got many rights that have been lost in many parts of Europe and there are still many things that need to be achieved so we are keen to maintain the May Day tradition."

When the GSLP/Liberals came to office in 2011 they not only reinstated May Day but also chose to celebrate Worker's Memorial Day, reinforcing that desire to honour the unions' efforts, and those individuals that have lost their lives at work.

"In line with other European countries, political parties that pursue progressive ideas tend to do events on May 1," said Netto. "Unfortunately, there's only one party that has done that and that's the GSLP/Liberals, reflecting a very good relationship between them and Unite."

He described the current Government having been "more courageous" than the GSD ever was in pursuing worker issues both in the public and private sectors.

'Guerilla typists'

Netto said he gets very disappointed with the way that ex-union activists criticise Unite's activities in the street or social media: "I'm retired now but I intend to contribute in one way or another to the trade union movement rather than take on this bitterness that only aims to bring down the trade union movement."

While he recognises that the trade unions locally and abroad are different to what they were in yesteryear, he believes that change has come because society itself has shifted.

"We no longer measure the success of the unions by the number of strikes we've had," said Netto. "Moreover, the way we do things has changed and people prefer to go to a lawyer than a union to the extent that sometimes our achievements work against us because people don't feel aggrieved anymore.

"Not only that but while previously workers would discuss their issues in the workplace or with the union, nowadays they become 'guerilla typists'. They explain their issue on social media to make themselves feel good rather than taking further action to find solutions."

05-05-15 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR