In its mission to alleviate poverty and promote human development and social justice, Caritas Malta believes that a healthy economy requires an ambitious social agenda.
In a statement on its proposals for the 2016 budget, Caritas welcomes the recent media reports that the Budget for 2016 will target low-income earners and the elderly. Caritas Malta believes that social policy must be recognised as an investment in human capital rather than a financial cost or burden.
Caritas Malta acknowledges as positive the low unemployment rate within the local labour market. However, within the context of active labour market measures, we believe that all jobs must render an income that enables workers to enjoy a stable and decent standard of living. Certain types of work do not necessarily mitigate poverty. For Caritas Malta decent employment with decent working conditions is a basic right. These conditions imply: job stability, personal safety, fare salary and non-harassment. In 2014, in Malta, the share of persons who were in-work but at-risk-of-poverty stood at 5.7% in Malta.
Caritas Malta welcomes the fact that the government acknowledged precariousness within the Maltese labour market. However we call the government to intensify its fight against precarious work conditions through legislative measures.
Caritas Malta urges the government to: set an adequate statutory minimum wage substantially higher than that of minimum income schemes; and invest heavily in the protection of all workers (both Maltese and migrants) in terms of labour market exploitation. There are particular jobs which are more prone to labour precariousness and exploitation
Caritas Malta recognises that in every society there are a number of people who cannot work, not because of a lack of desire to do so, but because they face several genuine issues that puts them in such position. This includes: sickness, disability, mental health problems and also those who are full-time carers of other people. Caritas Malta advocates for a decent income for families who cannot earn their living through work. Social security benefits, (non-contributory benefits) should guarantee an income that is indispensable to live a life in dignity and to fully participate in society.
Caritas Malta calls for:
o adequate minimum income schemes (social welfare benefits). They should be at least 60 per cent of the national median income to protect people against poverty across the life-cycle;
o Minimum income schemes should reflect empirical benchmarks and should be calculated on the basis of reference budgets to define an adequate income;
o good quality childcare in early years. Evidence suggests that it is an important tool to address poverty and promotes social mobility. The government should introduce immediately free childcare services for the unemployed poor. Children coming from such socio-economic background will be exposed to a different environment hence preventing intergenerational poverty;
o policies to address with immediate effect the plight of families on social welfare benefits and are currently living in a commercially rented accommodation5.
o more and more measures that ensure a gradual transition from dependency to the world of employment. In principle, Caritas Malta agrees with the tapering of benefits measure as implemented during the last budget. It is highly recommended that a scientific analysis (both a sociological and economic analysis) will be carried out to assess the benefits of this policy measure. This study will assess whether or not the tapering of benefits has created opportunities not dependency.
During 2014, the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate6 stood at 23.8%, equivalent to 99,000 persons (0.2 percentage decrease over the previous year). The monetary at-risk-of-poverty rate however increased to 15.9% during the same reference year (0.2 percentage increase than 2013).
A thorough analysis of Eurostat statistics on the at-risk-of-poverty rate show that
o whilst sex is not a key determining factor for different poverty levels, age does. Malta’s at-risk-of-poverty rates score below EU averages when it comes to the working age population, less so for the other age brackets;
o There is a significant two percentage point increase for the 65 years or over age bracket between 2013 and 2014;
o Household types with dependent children and/or elderly (65 years and over) are more likely to experience poverty.
Caritas Malta commends any measure that directly effects the most vulnerable families including those on social welfare benefits (particularly the ‘non-contributory benefits’), pensions and minimum wage. We stress the point that direct measures targeting low-income house categories will have direct and immediate benefits on the household’s disposable income. We call the government
o to monitor the prices of essential items, especially medicines, transport, food, utilities and commercial rent so that they reflect the income levels of the Maltese families;
o to set up a new advisory council (similar to, but separate from MCESD)focusing entirely on social issues and reforms.