The Labour Party is holding its general conference on Thursday, Friday and Sunday next week, and party leader Alfred Sant, who is recuperating from surgery, is expected to address the last session of the conference on the Sunday, MLP deputy leader for party affairs Michael Falzon told the media yesterday.

“Our policies are about people and not just about statistics and figures. The reality is that we have a high rate of inflation and comparably our earnings are low, and many of the protective structures in force at the moment are not effective,” Dr Falzon said.

He explained that this year’s conference, which will be the last one prior to the general election, will seal the work that the Labour Party has been doing for the last three years and a half to formulate a plan for a new beginning. “The conference shall have before it three motions for discussion and approval and their themes will be the family, social security and a better quality of life thanks to more work,” he added.

The motion entitled The Family is at the centre of the Plan for a New Beginning speaks about the proposals the Labour Party has made regarding the family, children, youth, sports, old people and those who would be buying their first residence, while the motion entitled Assuring social security speaks about Labour proposals in the fields of education, health, the environment and to ease the cost of living. Labour’s proposals for the Malta Environmental and Planning Authority, as well as animal awareness, alternative energy and historical heritage are also dealt with.

The motion Assuring the improvement of quality of life by means of more work discusses the link there must be between education and work life, and talks about Labour’s aims in the sectors of tourism, industry, information technology and the maritime sector and mentions Labour’s plans of regional development for Gozo, Bugibba and nearby areas, the Grand Harbour and the south of Malta.