Prime Minister Robert Abela used the Labour Party’s traditional Workers’ Day mass meeting to announce a new round of tax refund cheques, while also questioning whether it was time to reform planning laws to stop developments taking place while they are under appeal.

Abela addressed a sizeable crowd of supporters in Parliament Square on Monday, with the announcement of a new round of tax refund cheques being one of the most significant moments in his half-hour speech.

Abela said that the cheques will start being sent to over 250,000 workers on Monday 8 May and that the measure will cost the government €26 million – a figure which he pointed out was over double the €12 million spent to make the first round happen.

This will be the sixth round of tax refund cheques sent out by the government. The practice has drawn some controversy in the past, particularly after one round of cheques started to arrive in people’s mailboxes a week before the last general election.

But Abela brushed aside any upcoming criticism for the cheques: “Be sure that our friends in the Opposition will get up and act scandalised with this measure,” he said.

“The truth is, they do not want you to enjoy the wealth which are creating.  I will tell them: scandalise yourselves as much as you want, because we will be giving more and more to the people,” he said.

The measure was one of three major points from the Prime Minister’s speech: the second concerned possible reforms to a particular facet of Malta’s planning laws.

Abela questioned whether it “makes sense – if it ever did” that Malta’s planning laws allow construction developments to start works on a project when that same project is still being contested by an appeal in a tribunal or in court.

The Prime Minister was cautious not to outwardly pronounce himself on the matter – which may prove to be controversial with the construction industry, given how its chief representative the President of the MDA Michael Stivala recently accused NGOs of accepting money from competitors to protest against particular projects. 

Instead, Abela said that the country needs to start discussing this change to come up with a system which is just but which cannot be “sabotaged.”

Later in his speech, he spoke of the government’s proposal to introduce a licensing system for building contractors – a first in Malta – saying that the message which the government wants to send is that those who are willing to work seriously and in an organised manner should apply for it, and that those who aren’t, are not welcome in the construction industry.

The Prime Minister also announced that a public consultation for a new open space in Cospicua on land which was slated for development will open on Thursday, and that details on 15 projects with local councils which the government, through Project Green, will be investing €10 million in will be given next month.

Affordable accommodation stock the next step in housing

The third major point in Abela’s speech concerned the housing sector where, while praising initiatives which have already been taken, he said that the next step of work needs to begin.

He ran through incentives which the government introduced, giving particular focus to the most recent measure which will see first-time buyers receive €10,000 spread across 10 years from the government.

Abela said that 2,500 applications for this incentive had been received thus far, and that the first payments will be made in June.

However, he said that it must be recognised that challenges still exist and that more needs to be done in order to ensure that everyone – even those who still need assistance after taking advantage of all the schemes – can be property owners.

In this sense, Abela said that the government’s next step is to ensure that it has a strong stock of apartments with are priced affordably.

He also said that certain schemes – such as the equity sharing scheme – should be widened so that more people can take advantage of them.

On poverty, Abela frequently said that the worker was at the heart of everything which the government does, and said that the government’s efforts to attack poverty are succeeding.

He quoted recent statistics, saying that 2,000 people had been lifted out of a vulnerable status.

The PN does not want the worker to succeed, Abela says

Abela spared no punches towards his political opponents, with his general viewpoint being that the Nationalist Party would not work in favour of the working class.

“Our friends on the other side think that they can belittle what we have done, and try to make it seem like it is normal for a government to help people.  It is normal, but only as long as the Labour Party remains in government,” Abela told the cheering crowd.

He said that just this week, Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech said that his future plan is the same as the one he had prior to the last general election – one which Abela went on to describe as being “filled with mistakes” and as one “which was rejected by the people.”

“Had the PN been elected, it would have meant that they would have stopped the tax refunds. Instead, they wanted to give €2,000 in refunds to those who get the most – that’s how much they care about the worker,” he continued.

Likewise, when it came to electricity bills – which the government has continued to subsidise ever since the breakout of the Ukraine war – Abela said that while the EU has praised Malta for helping its people the most out of all European countries, the Opposition is saying that the help cannot continue being sustained.

“I answer: that help is there and we will sustain it,” the Prime Minister said to more applause.

“What a difference between this movement and the opposition party: we think of the worker all the time so that we can spread the wealth to everyone,” he said, before adding that the PN’s plan as a party “is to take from the worker and allow the few to enjoy more.”

Abela also recalled a few years ago when the PN government of the time “wanted to send trade union leaders to jail.”

“I remember my father [former President and GWU lawyer George Abela] coming home worried because Tony Zarb and his union colleagues were being threatened with a long prison sentence for protecting the workers.  But they didn’t give up, continue to fight for the workers, and their persistence showed that they were right,” he said.

“That is the spirit which we have to have for the coming times.  I am inspired by their courage,” Abela said.

A matter of pride and principle

Abela based much of his speech around pride and principles.

He said that Workers’ Day is always a celebration of the great qualities which make up the Maltese worker: wisdom, knowledge, and hard work.

“How can you not be proud of our workers? They won freedom and managed an economic miracle to result in the success of our country.  They built a system which is the envy of those around us,” he said.

Abela continued that today more than any other day, they should be proud of being the “only movement in favour of workers” before ratting off a variety of reforms which the government had introduced over the past decade.

“We are agents for good in our country.  We have a lot to do, but Malta Together [the PL’s last electoral slogan] is a crucial principle – even where a lot has been done, we want to do more,” he said.

Abela said that he is convinced that the country will keep moving forward. 

“Certainty and stability give us the peace of mind on which we must continue to build.  Quality work will keep coming and will keep offering quality careers, wealth will continue to be created, and we will keep working so that wealth can be enjoyed by everyone,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that this is just the first year of the legislature, and that there are four more years of hard work to come: “Four years of results, four years during which we will continue to sustain pensioners, strengthen workers, create opportunities for youths and give guarantees to children.”

“We have 1,000 proposals: We are already working and next year we will come back and speak about what we have achieved again, because we do what we promise and because we love our country,” he concluded.