After the summer lull, everybody gradually returns to work. Children will soon find their way to school. Traffic on our roads will become more congested. Heavy vehicles will fill the air and our lungs with toxic exhaust and fumes, while buses and delivery vehicles continue to make our obstructed roads more difficult to manoeuvre in at all hours of the day.

In addition to this chaos, many motorcycles zig-zag between vehicles, most to ensure that deliveries are made in time, risking lives for a few extra euro cents. Ironically, traffic surveillance is only conducted in the silent hours but not during the rush hours!

Undeniably, more people are feeling the mental daily strain for various reasons. This is clearly showing, and the authorities cannot just sit and watch, doing nothing while precious lives are being wasted.

Boasting about Malta’s economic growth and performance when compared to other EU countries is not enough. While this is definitely positive, one cannot make believe so as not to hear the alarming bells.

One defining figure which is a clear indicator that the financial wallet of families is getting tighter is the number of workers holding both full-time and part-time work. Figures published by the National Statistics Office showed that workers with a part-time job in addition to full-time employment had reached 39,538 individuals in March of this year. This accounts for 15% of the total workers who are gainfully occupied. Why so many workers need to work more hours in addition to their forty-hour week needs to be investigated.

This increase shows that the economic growth is not trickling down, as some in-office capitalist politicians and their advisors try to persuade us. The distribution of wealth leaves a great deal to be desired. With the high number of the at-risk-of-poverty, the social partners should endeavour to devise a plan to eradicate social exclusion within a defined period of time, since the authorities seem to be happy to compare their notes with pre2013, and even then, misquote figures. Given this myopia, the duty to address this issue falls on the social partners.

The time has come to have a well-being index, in addition to our gross domestic product indicator. People should be at the centre of our economy and economic growth. There is a huge divide between individuals who can make ends meet at the end of the month due to their connections with those in authority, and others who must resort to food banks. I wonder why this Island has been relegated to this situation.

Some years back we were promised that the influx of workers, mostly low-skilled third country nationals, was primarily aimed to address our pensions’ sustainability and adequacy. Today we all know that those politicians were simply pulling wool over our eyes! So much for political rhetoric. The number of workers with lowpaid jobs has increased substantially, precarious employment has sky-rocketed, the number of working poor has augmented, and the middle-class has disappeared and their disposal income eroded due to inflation. All the while, pressures on services and the infrastructure are constantly mounting, the degradation of the environment has reached irreversible consequences, overcrowding is suffocating every inch of these islands, the healthcare system and related services are under huge stresses due to the increased number of patients calling on our one hospital, rubbish accumulates and is left uncollected in prime tourist areas, and roadworks in core village areas and city centres alike take ages to complete. These are just a few of the many concerns most citizens have to contend with.

So, the role of the social partners sitting on the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development is an important one, despite that it is solely consultative.

I have always believed in meaningful social dialogue, and notwithstanding that there were times in the past that some had publicly expressed grave concerns about the importance of the MCESD, today these same persons and media houses have realised that discussions, irrespective of how difficult negotiations might be, can be a successful formula. At the MCESD, the Government representatives hold equal status as any representative of the other social partners. If Government wants to ignore the sound counsel of the social partners, that would be at its own peril.

Today it is undeniable that Malta is inundated with lowskilled, third country workers, yet there seem to be diverging views between at least two, if not three, senior Government

Ministers, all making conflicting public statements about the Island’s current economic situation. Whether the current economic model should be revised, changed, modified or scrapped altogether is something which should not be left at the discretion of the Government. The social partners are duty-bound to contribute and influence the decision-making process. I am certain of the valid input that most of the social partners can make. They should not be swayed by small tokens, neither should they be compromised. Society at large depends on their valid participation at the MCESD. The social partners must pick up courage and make their positions public before the next Budget is announced.

Malta is in dire need of a long-term, sustainable economic vision which must be agreed between the social partners. Our quality of life and the common good should be the guiding principles. The economic vision must have a clear strategy and a policy plan, and this should be irrespective of any political party rhetoric. This can no longer be left on hold.