Helena Dalli, Labour Party spokesperson for the public function and women’s rights, said the proposal made this week by the Employment and Training Corporation for after school hours supervision to be given in schools to children whose parents worked had been made over 10 years ago by the Commission for the Advancement of Woman.

The news conference given by the ETC to announce the proposal, Ms Dalli added, was nothing but propaganda for the government about something which should have been in operation already for years.

The Labour government of 1996 had started working on such a proposal but the work was not continued when the government changed. The same had happened to Labour government plans for centres where children aged under three years would be looked after.

Ms Dalli said the news conference also heard about a Birkirkara local council centre where children would be looked after. This too had been promised by the Nationalist government but was never implemented. And when Zejtun local council did the necessary work for a centre in the town, the help promised by the government did not materialise.

Ms Dalli said many promises which had fallen by the wayside were again being resurrected because a general election was near.