According to Labour leader Alfred Sant, the MLP document in which it is proposed that the workers’ annual bonus is removed was written with a lot of thought, attention and seriousness and is a plan of action, the Nationalist Party said in a statement.
The way Dr Sant praised the document leaves no doubt as to his agreement with it. This is why the Labour Party cannot distance itself from the proposal made to remove the bonus now that this report is being criticised.
The proposal will take money away from workers and pensioners and reduce the quality of life, the PN. If the MLP was not in agreement with the proposal it would not have left it there when the document was published on 7 August.
The fact that the proposal was included in the MLP document shows that the party has nothing against the removal of the bonus. Dr Sant described the document as a “plan of action that faces reality in a serious way according to the country’s circumstances”.
The PN said that contrary to what Dr Sant said, the removal of the bonus cannot be considered as a serious action plan. Its removal would be an “insensitive gesture”.
In the introduction to the document, Dr Sant praises it for its seriousness and wrote that the report “considers the forthcoming challenges … with thought, attention and understanding of how Europe is being faced with economic problems”.
If the MLP leader had any doubts about the recommendations listed in the document, in particular the bonus removal, he would not have praised the document the way he did, the PN said.
Together with the bonus removal, the MLP had also proposed the 10 per cent depreciation of the lira, the PN said.