Low income workers in Malta have struggled over recent years to live their lives without financial worry.

It is a fact that many Maltese stopped working certain kinds of jobs in order to go for higher-quality jobs, thus meaning that, for example, the construction industry and the restaurant sector had to employ foreign workers to fill up their empty slots.

This was a natural situation for the country, given its success economically. However, as the Finance Minister Clyde Caruana himself has admitted, while over the past seven years medium to high earning Maltese workers have seen a steady and solid increase in their salaries, low-income Maltese workers have seen their salaries either stay the same or increase very slightly.

While the Finance Minister was talking specifically about Maltese workers, there is little doubt that this will also extend to foreign workers who picked up the jobs that Maltese no longer want to work.

Now there are those who argue that wages remained low due to the high influx of foreign workers in such jobs over the years. This might well be the case, but the fact also remains that without these workers, it is unlikely that there would have been so many businesses still up and running in Malta, and it is also unlikely that the economy would have flourished.

Where does this leave the country? If the gap between wages increases significantly, poverty could become a serious issue, as while the cost of everyday goods, of housing could rise, the wages of those most at risk is not.

Indeed the debate over poverty has long been a topic discussed in Malta.

It is good to note that the government recognises that there is this particular situation. The Finance Minister said, about low-income Maltese workers’ salaries being stagnant, that “for any government, let alone a Labour one, this is not on.”

The government has to do more, he said, so that such workers can have jobs which would allow them to own a home through a bank loan they can actually get, and which will allow them to provide a good standard of living for their families.

The question is, of course, how will this be achieved? Many people who work do not want hand outs, don’t want charity, but want to be able to live their lives decently on the wages they earn through their work.

The government can create a number of schemes to help out such workers, perhaps even lower tax rates, but the main issue, that of salaries, will be one that will need to be tackled.

This would not be an easy issue to solve, as private companies are the ones that set the wage standards. Raising the minimum wage again could be a solution but could also have counter effects, such as seeing the cost of living rise as a result. A living wage has also been something that has been discussed in society over the years.

The government needs to think long and hard about how to tackle this issue, and must work with the business community to find solutions.