Justice Minister Chris Said yesterday said that millions around the world live in abject poverty and that more and better jobs need to be created to address these same issues.

But Dr Said had nothing to say about precarious jobs, the subject of GWU leader Tony Zarb, when he addressed the ILO conference.

The times are difficult and trying, he said, and millions of people across the world live in abject poverty. There is an ever present need to create more and better jobs and to improve productivity while concurrently restructuring economic systems. It remains necessary to integrate disadvantaged groups into the labour market, to protect migrant workers, to ensure sustainable social and economic systems, to implement programmes related to HIV/AIDS, and to reduce the digital divide. There is still much to be done.

There can be no doubt that the voices of all the stakeholders and the widest possible range of opinions needs to be heard and considered when formulating policies at enterprise, local or national government level. This improves the quality of the decision-making process and is something to which my government is committed, Dr Said said.

In Malta, the law governing participation in the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, the national tripartite forum for social dialogue, has been recently amended to allow for the inclusion of more representatives of organisations set up over the past few years. Despite various financial constraints, the Maltese delegation to the ILO consists of a wider representation of both employers and workers, made possible through the provision of additional public funds – in effect doubling the number of organisations which could participate in this ILO Conference.

Dr Said went on to speak about jobs that the government says have been created in Malta. “Not only were 5,000 jobs saved through specific targeted intervention in the worst of the crisis, but over the past four years the Maltese economy was resilient enough to produce 20,000 new jobs. This is not solely due to the Maltese government’s efforts and interventions but is a testament to the value of the harnessing of resources of the involved stakeholders and the industriousness and adaptability of the Maltese worker,” he said.

Despite this relative success, they had to remain vigilant against new threats. They were committed to continuing to provide the education, health and social protection systems which citizens deserve. “At the same time, in a spirit of social partnership, we need to ensure that such programmes are sustainable and that fiscal responsibility, rather than austerity, underpins our actions and policies. This is vital if we are to succeed in ensuring a more socially just and equitable society where all individuals are provided with the right tools to develop their full potential,” Dr Said said.