When the Labour Party is in government, it will assure pensions for everyone and adequate social services for those in need, said Labour MP Silvio Parnis yesterday in Parliament.
Parliament was discussing the second reading of the Social Security Bill.
Mr Parnis pointed out that the Labour Party introduced the two-thirds pension scheme and urged both sides to work together towards improving social benefits for the Maltese population.
The proposed measures in the pensions scheme penalise low-wage earners compared to those with medium and high wages, said Mr Parnis.
It does not take into consideration other measures of social contribution and ignores self-employed and women, he added.
The pensions scheme does not include people whose only income is from part-time employment.
He suggested that pensions reform should be holistic and target all sectors of society. The Labour party will assure adequate pensions to all society, especially those in the lower strata of society, said Mr Parnis.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly Helen D’Amato said that although Mr Parnis spoke about working together, the Labour Party refused to collaborate on the pensions reform even though government requested their contribution.
Hard decisions need to be taken for the pensions reform to go ahead, she said. “We are not taking these decisions to increase our popularity but out of responsibility to all future pensioners,” she pointed out.
The reform needs to be linked to other reforms including the education and health, she added. The government cannot be accused because it makes decisions which are not popular at present.
Labour cannot say the government is putting the pensions reform on the fast-track system when it was discussed for the past 10 years, she pointed out.
All the necessary consultations were taken except with the Labour party, she said. However, the Labour party is urging the government to take its time and take its decision in the next few years.
“Everyone agrees that these reforms can no longer be postponed, as they will create uncertainties in Maltese society, she said.
Each new measure will be introduced gradually over a number of years to reduce its impact, and will eventually mature to an adequate and sustainable pensions system, said Mrs D’Amato.
The longer the government will take to introduce these reforms, the harsher their effects will be and the less sustainable these reforms will be, said Mrs D’Amato.
These reforms are taken for the good of Maltese society and not for a select few, she added.
Nationalist MP Michael Gonzi said the Nationalist Party tackles hot issues such as the pensions reform, unlike the Labour party.
He added that people over 55 years of age will not be affected by the pensions scheme.
“The pensions reform assures a quality of life to those who have worked an entire lifetime,” he said. Nationalist MP Joe Cassar queried why the Labour party left it to the last minute to put forward a proposal throwing all the good work on the pensions reform out of the window. He also asked what was wrong in the proposed pensions reform when Malta has an ageing population and the rate of births is decreasing.