Prime Minister Joseph Muscat declared that with Malta’s economy doing so well at the moment, there is no time like now to discuss adjusting the minimum wage to today’s needs.
“The minimum wage right now is not enough,” he said, adding that this cannot be changed without proper consultation.
Discussions are currently taking place between the government and social partners in order to reach an understanding on the minimum wage.
“Everyone who is receiving minimum wage will be receiving an increase next year,” he said. He questioned why social partners would oppose an increase when Malta is experiencing such robust growth.
“If not now, then when?”
“In the coming months, this government will again decide on something that certain groups could not decide for themselves, increasing the minimum wage,” he said.
Dr Muscat slammed the use of Heavy Fuel Oil, saying that Malta was the only country in the EU to do so, with Maltese and Gozitans paying among the highest tariffs for electricity. He also slammed, what he calls, the sending of “threatening letters” to the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) while it gears itself up to decide on the operational permit of the LNG tanker.
His comments came in the form of a Labour Party political activity which took place this morning.
He declared his confidence that the public believes the country is heading in the right direction, and that people’s lives are better off than they were three years ago.
Dr Muscat said that this government is working with serenity because it is confident in the contribution it is making towards the country.
“Under a previous PN administration, they used to boast about the foreign certifications awarded to Malta,” he said.
Dr Muscat added that these certifications were given to Malta for improving public finances, but the foreign ratings agencies did not take into account that the government of the day simply passed on added burdens to the people.
He exclaimed that now we have more certifications than ever before, while people’s standard of living is also increasing.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that Malta had exceptional growth and performance and that things have been going so well because of the decisions taken by this government. Dr Muscat proudly highlighted this, and stressed that the IMF takes no notice of partisan politics, and has no bias or ties towards anybody.
He refuted claims that economically positive performance is due to decisions taken by the previous administration, as mentioned by the IMF themselves.
Parliamentary Secretary for the EU presidency and EU funds slammed efforts to halt the issuing of an operational license for the controversial LNG tanker. He questioned why the Opposition would oppose such a project when it is a move towards cleaner air.
Turning to Malta’s EU presidency, Dr Borg revealed that there will be a total of 1,800 meetings taking place in both Malta and Brussels.
He questioned what the Opposition stands for, and made an appeal for them to mature.
Without mentioning the issue of how unwell the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri is directly, Dr Borg said that having battled some health issues this year, he slammed the “disrespect” shown by comments made in other sections of the media.