Just because there are jobs the Maltese people don’t want to work anymore, “doesn’t mean that the solution is to create slavery in Malta,” Nationalist Party spokesperson for the economy and Air Malta Ivan J. Bartolo told The Malta Independent on Sunday.
The rising cost of living and very high property prices mean that most people are feeling the pinch. The price of basic items rising means that people are having to be more careful with their purchases.
But there is a sector of the workforce in Malta who have it harder than others.
During an interview with this newsroom, Bartolo expressed concern at the wages third country national workers in Malta are paid. He quoted some statistics that were tabled in Parliament, which showed that in 2021 there were 37,688 third country nationals working in the country – 10,660 of these people were listed as earning under €10,000.
These are extremely low wages, and it begs the question as to how one could live on such a pay.
“We’ve seen photos where bedrooms are converted into rows of bunk beds. Today it’s not even about the number of beds, but the utilisation of beds, where a person sleeps, wakes up and takes their sheets with them as another shift will need that bed. Is that the Malta we want to live in? Is that the Malta that will inspire our youths?” Bartolo asks.
Can you imagine living in such conditions? Anyone offering such living conditions is taking advantage of these young workers who came to the country seeking a better life.
We cannot treat people coming to live and work in Malta as though they are just another item which we import. It’s not right. They are human beings just like the rest of us.
We need to take a long, hard look at what Malta is becoming.
Another point Bartolo raised was Malta’s economic model. “A strong economy is the source of national strength, but the strength of the economy is not about whether it is growing by 5% year-on-year. The strength of the economy equates to the wellbeing of the country and we all know where the wellbeing of this country is heading. I haven’t gone into issues like mental health as I am no expert. I haven’t yet mentioned that 70% of youths want to leave Malta. I haven’t mentioned that there are many families doing their best to acquire property overseas just to find open space. We know all this. We need to have a strong economy that can create value added employment opportunities and that can also produce the revenue we need to deliver a good quality of life for our citizens.”
Bartolo’s argument is that the government is too focused on economic growth statistic without looking at the rest of the picture. And perhaps he is right.
The PN has its own ideas as to how to tackle this, but what is for sure is that a discussion about our economic model is needed. Even Finance Minister Clyde Caruana was reported as having said that the country needs to overhaul its economic model to remain competitive. He reportedly said that Malta’s population will have to rise to 800,000 over the next 17 years if the country is to keep its economy growing at the current rate, unless a new economic model is devised.
Having an economy which results in the unsustainable need for more and more workers to be flown in, given the country’s limited space, is an issue that needs to be tackled. If we keep on like this, how much green space will be left? How small will apartments need to become to accommodate the growing population? In addition one must also ask, are we treating foreign workers with the respect and dignity they deserve?