Dr Galea made this statement during the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions Congress New Challenges for Maltese Trade Unions.

He briefly touched on the CMTU’s history, saying that in 1959, it worked hard to coordinate and make more effective Maltese trade-unionism.

At present, said Dr Galea, the CMTU had 11 affiliated unions representing 36,000 employees from varying sectors.

Over the past 50 years, there had been many changes in Malta. Its

economy had moved from being one dependent on a military base to one dependent on tourism and manufacturing. “During this time, we have had success and we have managed to improve working conditions in Malta,” he said.

Trade unions needed to carry out their work while always bearing in mind the ever-increasing aspirations of employees, and our economy which competes in a globalised market, said Dr Galea.

He added that various employment laws had changed because government had recognised the need to move with the times and update

legislation accordingly.

Dr Galea said that The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development has had a very positive impact on the general

economic and employment outlook and it was an excellent forum for social dialogue.

“The discussions we are having at the moment are aimed towards improving our economy, generating employment and promoting social justice,” he said.