According to government and EU figures, wages are decreasing while tax burdens are increasing and the cost of living is doubling and trebling when compared to those in the EU, claimed MLP leader Dr Alfred Sant yesterday.

Reacting to the MCESD meeting held on Friday, Dr Sant said that this shows something is not working the way it should. Unfortunately, at the MCESD meeting, the government did not address this problem.

A number of verbal presentations were delivered on the cost of living, Dr Sant said, but they served only to justify the government’s argument that there is nothing more that can be done and that the authorities are doing all they can.

The MLP, Dr Sant said, does not agree with this and believes that the government should take the question of the high cost of living seriously.

The MLP leader said the government cannot go on hiding behind statements that the high cost of living is a result of international prices and that the argument about the cost of living is imaginary and unreal.

The Leader of the Opposition quoted figures issued by the EU regarding price changes in various sectors and which show that in sectors such as food, non-alcoholic beverages, clothes, shoes and health, the cost of living in Malta is double, triple and even higher when compared to those in the EU.

The MLP has prepared measures to safeguard the families’ purchasing power. An MLP government will halve the surcharge while strengthening the structures that safeguard the consumer.

Dr Sant said the Labour Party believes that there is the need for an audit both of the analytical structure of pricings as well as of the way the price index in Malta is being set-up.