Malta Labour Party leader Alfred Sant yesterday said the party’s fuel surcharge proposal would also be applicable to small and medium enterprises that do not currently benefit from capping on their utility bills.
Addressing a press conference regarding employment, Dr Sant said a new Labour government would increase employment opportunities and make the most of the potential of the people. This is the theme that the Labour Party will be discussing during political activities this week.
Dr Sant claimed that the employment rate has been on the decline since the country gained independence and Malta has one of the EU’s lowest rates of participation in the labour force.
“The Maltese participation rate in the labour force is about 10 percentage points lower than the EU average.”
Between 1964 and 1967, said Dr Sant, 6,780 full-time jobs were taken up and this number went up to 12,105 between 1974 and 1977.
Another 12,732 full-time jobs were taken up between 1984 and 1987; this then decreased to 8,457 between 1994 and 1997, and went down further to 2,453 between 2004 and 2007, said Dr Sant.
Dr Sant said a substantial number of people who could work, are not being offered the opportunity to do so, and added that real economic growth of one to two per cent per year was not enough.
Moreover, said Dr Sant, the tax burden was on the increase and it was hindering economic growth.
“We want to be able to create growth and opportunities for investment and employment,” he said, before going on to explain how the MLP plans to implement its vision.
He said a new Labour government would meet with industrialists to discuss ways of making it easier for them to operate, also by means of easing tax burdens. A Labour government would create 2,000 jobs in the manufacturing and services industries over four to five years, said Dr Sant.
He said the MLP planned to attract investment opportunities in hi-tech sectors, but also in more traditional sectors like engineering.
Another 4,000 jobs will be created in new industries and related services over three to four years, said the Labour leader.
Asked if these numbers exclude the jobs that will be created by means of the SmartCity project, Dr Sant replied that the jobs that the Labour Party plans to generate are over and above the SmartCity jobs. He said a new Labour government would continue supporting the project.
Speaking about IT and financial services, Dr Sant said it has to be ensured that training and education programmes match the needs of the industries.
“Substantial growth has been registered in the financial services sector, but its benefits remain compartmentalised.”
He said that like it had done between 1996 and 1998, a new Labour government would re-establish a commission for entrepreneurs, which would look at opportunities for development and growth.
“The commission had come up with a number of interesting and valid recommendations,” he said, adding that the MLP also wants to reduce complications regarding taxation systems for micro-enterprises, in a way that would help them create more full-time employment opportunities. Micro-enterprises should be given every form of support, he said.
Saying that a new Labour government would regenerate the Ta’ Qali Crafts Village within two years, Dr Sant added that the self-employed would be further assisted to modernise their enterprise by being provided with workshops on an emphyteusis basis.
Speaking about the MLP’s proposal to cut the surcharge on utility bills by half, Dr Sant said that as a general rule, it would also be applicable to small and medium enterprises that do not currently benefit from the capping system on their bills, and said that this would be done by means of a refund in the form of a tax credit.