The Opposition has repeatedly highlighted its concerns on the state of Malta's manufacturing industry. Over the past two years, the value of industrial exports shrunk, the average wage of the manufacturing employees' employees decreased and the contribution of manufacturing to GDP growth went into negative territory.
In an article published in The Malta Independent today, the Labour MEP Alfred Sant echoed the Opposition's concerns and said that "local manufacturing industry is experiencing serious problems as it tries to maintain its position in the economy". Despite the clear signs, government refused and is still refuses to acknowledge that a problem exists, said Opposition spokesman Mario de Marco in a statement.
According to the latest Labour Force survey, the manufacturing sector employs around 26,000 employees. By refusing to acknowledge the problem and adopt a clear plan of action, government is putting at risk the take-home pay of these individuals. Unless corrective action is taken by government to help improve the competitiveness of our manufacturing industry, there could be a risk that the De La Rue lay offs will not be an isolated experience.
The Opposition supports the call made in the Malta Chamber's Industrial Policy document on the need to address the county's cost structures and ensure they are aligned with the country's competitive needs. In the short-term, government should consider heeding the call made by various constituted bodies and the Opposition to lower further the electricity rates especially at a time when oil prices have dropped by half over this past year. Moreover, government should lower substantially the price of fuel which is eroding the competitiveness of various industries particularly our manufacturing industry. Government should also address those issues that pushed Malta further down the Global Competitiveness index over the past two years.
On its part, the Nationalist Party, in its "Economy for the People" document, published proposals aimed at transforming the manufacturing sector into a higher value added industry in the long-run.