Mgr Mercieca was speaking at a seminar organised by the Curia to discuss “Work and Family in the Light of the Diocesan Synod” yesterday.

Participants in the seminar included Nationalist MP Dr Joe Cassar, Labour spokesperson on Social Affairs and Employment Dr Karl Chircop, Fr Charles Cordina and Fr Joe Galea Curmi.

Fr William Bartolo’s introduction focused on the various spiritual and social aspects of a previous discussion that dealt with the indelible link between work and God and called for concerted action in the form of proper dialogue on the subject of work.

In his address, Mgr Mercieca thanked all who had contributed to the Synod with their work and time to make the project a success. Mgr Mercieca said the country needs to evolve spiritually but man also needs the dignity of work. The archbishop said that one must resort to prayer for assistance, as one cannot go it alone.

Mgr Mercieca said there should be proper dialogue between the government and the opposition although their roles are different. He said that all those involved in deciding the country’s policy must collaborate and not adopt a confrontational attitude. He reflected that most of the time, confrontation is the order of the day in our country.

The archbishop said that one must continue working for the good of the country and not put personal interests first. Mgr Mercieca also spoke about the need to maintain one’s proper dignity and said there was a time for everything in life, placing particular emphasis on the working woman. A woman who does not work in order to spend more time with her family must not be regarded as an inferior as she is fulfilling her role as mother.

Mgr Mercieca said that a mother must dedicate her time to her children and not go out to work, as she would have less time to dedicate to her family. He called for a more rational approach to materialism and said it was important for children to have a good upbringing otherwise the country would not have good citizens in the future. In no uncertain terms, the Archbishop maintained that those mothers who remain at home to raise their children should receive financial assistance from the State.

The Archbishop said most politicians were only interested in keeping their seat in Parliament and thus do not work for the common good of the country. Mgr Mercieca called on all social partners, including unions to keep the country’s interests in mind and not make exorbitant demands to satisfy their members. Concluding, the archbishop said that selfishness and greed should be swept aside and the idea of social dialogue to create a better country should be paramount.

The panel discussion began on how to pass on family values. Mgr Mercieca said it was important for public discussions to focus on the positive and not the negative side of the family. He said the media was not helping to project a positive family image. He insisted that one must not succumb to evil influences as God is great and he would always be there for us. Mgr Mercieca also recounted a few personal anecdotes and humorous descriptions on religious life that served to lighten the tone of the discussion.

The seminar was also addressed by Godfrey Leone Ganado who focused on various documents with regard to work and social matters and the synod’s influence on this important issue.

Mr Leone Ganado began his speech by stating that the Diocesan Synod was based on the analyses of the 100,000 questionnaires completed by church goers, and as such was not a pronouncement by the official church. He said that there must be a balance between work and the family and called on the government and social partners to work together to draw up a budget that would focus on the creation of employment.

Mr Leone Ganado then referred to two documents of the General Workers Union and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin that had a common subject which is the creation of employment and a call for social justice. He also mentioned the European Commission’s convergence document on the decline in the fertility rate and increased life expectancy. However, Mr Leone Ganado made an interesting point – the fertility rate of non-educated women was as high as three while that for women with a tertiary education was only 0.8.

Mr Leone Ganado spoke about the importance of social inclusion, noting that the digital divide was growing due to modern day phenomena such as globalization and restructuring with most jobs now being outsourced to countries that exploit their labour force who are paid comparatively very low wages. Citing the Family Commission document, Mr Leone Ganado said that there must be a proper balance between work and family.

As regards the National Action Plans on Poverty and Employment, Mr Leone Ganado said these focus on creating employment and employability with particular reference to unskilled workers and over 45s who have not worked for a significant period of time. Mr Leone Ganado said the number of separations was on the rise and this was creating economic difficulties for single mothers and their offspring. Mr Leone Ganado also cited the EU’s Working Time Directive and said that the principle scope of this directive was the health of the worker in general.

Mr Leone Ganado then focused on the synod’s documents with relation to work and referred to the current economy, which was leaving a number of unskilled workers without a job. He said that work is paramount for the dignity of the human being and that the documents refer particularly to the importance of the family that eventually produces the society in which we live. Mr Leone Ganado said it was important that our country continues to create jobs and the restructuring process should not work to create massive unemployment levels.

Without mincing his words, Mr Leone Ganado said that the minimum wage was not sufficient to maintain a single person let alone a family and scathingly criticised the exploitation currently prevalent in the construction and entertainment industries. He mentioned particular cases going on in building projects were employers refuse to register workers and called for a concerted effort to stop this abuse.

Mr Leone Ganado spoke on the need to retrain those workers who lost their jobs through restructuring and that employability was a crucial issue here. Mr Leone Ganado then turned to the subject of education, saying that too many children do not finish their secondary education which, together with the high illiteracy rate and the new phenomenon of the digital divide, is very worrying. He also spoke about the importance of new skills such as a multilingual approach and mentioned the dearth of Maltese translators for EU posts.

Mr Leone Ganado spoke about the inclusion of women in the labour market where our participation rate as a country is only 30 per cent compared to an average of over 60 per cent in other European countries. He spoke about the need for males to help out with household chores and advised feminist movements not to view the male as an antagonist, and vice versa. It was important for both mothers and fathers to keep to their roles as defined by nature, Mr Leone Ganado added.

Mr Leone Ganado said that there is currently an imbalance between the industrial and services sectors with the former showing static growth while the latter is growing rapidly. He also discussed the economic issues that arise in separation cases and the impact that these have on the national economy.

Concluding, Mr Leone Ganado said work is important to establish a stable family as this eventually leads to a better society as a whole and a win-win situation for the country’s social and economic development.

In comments from the floor, Dr Karl Chircop, Opposition spokesperson on Social Affairs and Employment, said that there exist too few opportunities for women in the labour market due to some males’ chauvinistic attitude. Dr Chircop said the Church should continue in its work to reduce polemics, rivalry and petty politics in small villages and towns that eventually have a negative effect on its social life and the economy.

Dr Chircop said that separation was a scourge that was ruining society of all age groups and sectors and was exerting immense pressure on traditional family values. He said that social problems were on the rise and not enough was being done to combat this negative effect. Dr Chircop called for measures to be taken on both a micro and a macro economic level.

He cited a particular case where an employee was suddenly taken very ill and was late reporting sick. She is currently facing a charge and is being threatened with dismissal. This is a deplorable incident, Dr Chircop added.

Concluding, Dr Chircop called for a concerted effort by the government, opposition and the Church to work together in combating social problems for the betterment of our country.

Nationalist MP Dr Joe Cassar, commented on the archbishop’s speech, which reaffirmed traditional social and religious values and said that it was important for the Maltese people to have a strong religious leader of Mgr Mercieca’s ilk. Dr Cassar also praised the archbishop’s views on the role of the Opposition, which should emphasise unity in diversity.

Dr Cassar said there should be a cultural shift in our mentality and abuses in the labour sector should be targeted and eliminated. He mentioned cases where some persons apply for social benefits they are not entitled to. Although these should be done away with, one must also proceed with caution when tackling such problems as it could destabilise the families’ economic situation. Dr Cassar called for a legalised system that would provide financial assistance to mothers who remain at home although a system of checks and balances should be in place.

Fr Joe Galea Curmi spoke about the relationship between work and the family as defined by the synod. He said that many young children do not really know their father as they do not spend enough time with him due to pressures of work. He called for families to discuss and share opinions on the best way to raise their family.

Fr Galea Curmi also said that one should see if current family incomes are in line with today’s standard of living and suggested the possible establishment of a family wage. Concluding, Fr Galea Curmi said that the synod document offered wide scope for discussion to combat the problems being faced by today’s family in the context of work.

Fr Charles Cordina spoke about the problems being faced by certain working class families in villages where a patriarchial society dominates. He said it was important for the family to be strong and the Church should continue to preach traditional and established social and moral values that will eventually be passed on to future generations.