Employment sector in a state of flux

The public sector's share of the labour market has gone down from 42 per cent in June 1993 to 34 per cent this year, Education Minister Louis Galea said at the end of the parliamentary debate on the ETC estimates late on Wednesday.

Winding up the debate on the estimates of the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC), Dr Galea said investment in the ETC in the past five years had risen from Lm1.5 million to Lm2.7 million.

He observed that over the past 10 years the working population had increased by 30,000 people. A total 992 more people were registering for employment and the labour supply had risen by more than 25,000.

Employment in the services industry had risen by seven per cent while the number of workers in direct production had fallen by three per cent.

An average of 2,300 jobs were lost each year over the past five years but most of the people who were unemployed found another job.

Dr Galea said it was unfair for the opposition to only quote unemployment figures as carried in the Labour Force Survey. That survey actually listed people seeking a job who were aged between 15 and 64, but since people could not start working before 16, and they retired at 61, the ETC kept records of the people actually registering for work, aged 16 to 61.

In the past five years, the labour supply had increased by nearly 3,000, the number of gainfully occupied by 2,662, the number of part time workers whose part time job was their primary job by 7,366 and the number of those registering for employment by 294.

There was an increase of 5,815 jobs in the private sector and a drop of 3,135 of those working in the public sector.

If one was to quote unemployment figures from the Labour Force Survey, the same survey should be quoted for employment figures.

For while according to ETC figures, the labour force was of 144,544 people, according to the Labour Force Survey this was of 156,070.

Dr Galea said that the Labour Force Survey of 2002 showed that the unemployment rate in acceding states was 14.8 per cent, in EU states 7.6 per cent, and in Malta five per cent. The long term unemployed in acceding states numbered 54.3 per cent, in the EU 40.2 per cent and in Malta 40.5 per cent.

As for youth unemployment, in acceding states this stood at 31.6 per cent, in the EU at seven per cent and in Malta at 6.5 per cent.

The inflation rate in Malta had dropped to just 1.1 per cent, the lowest in the EU except for Germany. Income from employment had increased by 3.8 per cent over the previous year and average weekly earnings increased by 3.1 per cent.

The government, Dr Galea said, would not stop the restructuring process. But one should heed what the governor of the Central Bank said recently that unit labour costs in Malta were relatively high and effective collaboration between all involved was required. As the governor had said, stronger competition following EU membership should be considered a driving force for the country to move ahead rapidly.

Concluding, Dr Galea underscored the importance of investment in innovation, pointing out that, for the first time ever, the budget included a vote on research.

Earlier in the debate, Nationalist MP Clyde Puli said the government had proposed a series of initiatives and programmes in the last budget aimed at improving the situation and increasing employment. The self-employed would also have greater access to public contracts.

Everyone had to realise that it was not enough for the government to present an updated programme of works. Workers also had to change their practices, bringing them in line with new requirements. He pointed out that while the number of workers in private manufacturing industry had dropped by 1,600, those in the services sector increased by 1,500.

The Maltese, he said, had to be encouraged to find employment in sectors which were flourishing.

In the changing world of employment, the ETC should provide training which gave workers new skills, enabling their better integration in the employment world.

The fact that there were 5,010 people following ETC courses was a clear sign that the ETC's message in favour of continuous training was being heard.

Labour MP Marie Louise Coleiro asked what had become of the ETC business plan for October 2000 to September 2003.

This plan, she said, had promised that the ETC would become a national training institution. What regular coordination did the ETC have with MCAST? The impression was that there was duplication of work, which would mean a drain of resources.

The situation where the education system produced one product while the employment world demanded another could not continue.

Ms Coleiro asked what had become of the proposed national qualification and certification system. Nine per cent of the work force in Malta lacked qualifications and it was important that some form of NVQs started to be given.

The ETC business plan had also discussed the promotion of female participation in the labour market, pointing out that there was a lack of child care services, which would help mothers return to their jobs.

The ETC had organised a course in child care but there were as yet no child minding regulations.

Mrs Helen D'Amato (PN) said that apprenticeship schemes were lacking sponsorships. She asked which courses were mostly being affected. Was this a current or a recurring problem? Was the demand for apprentices larger than the actual supply?

She asked if MCAST procedures were discouraging employers from employing apprentices. Were the number of school days vis-a-vis working days affecting this?

Students, Mrs D'Amato said, were demoralised when they were not being offered apprenticeship schemes. The authorities should scrutinise industries where there was this problem as students who did not find a sponsor faced several disadvantages since they did not receive stipends and were not awarded the journeyman's certificate.

This was because this was linked with the work performed. Sometimes, after finishing their courses, students could not be employed because employers requested this certificate.

Mrs D'Amato asked if there was any form of communication between MCAST, the ETC and the employers. What was the exact role of the Malta Enterprise in this regard?

She praised ETC for coming up with a gender plan and for changing practices for after school training. The gender action plan, she said, was not only targeted at females but also at males.

Mrs D'Amato said that figures were not important when discussing employment for the disabled and other minority groups.

Labour MP Anglu Farrugia referred to the medical auditing system which is to be introduced to cut abuse in the free medicinals service and augured that the exercise would be carried out in a serious manner.

Dr Farrugia said the statistics showed that a substantial number of people who were dismissed by employers had ended up in part two of the employment register, which meant that they did not receive benefits for six months. Over 700 people had appealed from such decisions this year.

He pointed out that there was no justification for the fall to 215, in 2003, of people caught working and registering for employment, considering that many more used to be caught under Labour.

Labour MP Carmelo Abela asked if the ETC had been placed under the Education Ministry so that it would give more attention to training. Could it be that an effort was to be made for existing resources to be shared?

In training it was necessary that everyone worked together. The ETC could not leave out other institutions such as MCAST. Having a qualified and trained workforce could help attract investment. But this was not enough.

Investment could not be attracted by the ETC. Malta was now less competitive and the ETC should be at the forefront in bringing together the entities responsible for attracting investment together, asking them what abilities they required for it to focus its training on such areas.

Were the Lm1 million the ETC dedicated for training enough?

Mr Abela said it was worrying that so many young people were ending up unemployed.

Around 5,126 of the 7,942 seeking employment, more than 64 per cent, were seeking employment of the lowest level or in sectors for which prospects were bleak.

There should be an analysis every now and again to see if the training being provided by the corporation was effective.

Dr Stefan Buontempo (MLP) emphasised the importance of the ETC unit responsible for former prisoners.

It was a matter of regret that former prisoners who were doing their best to re-enter the labour sector were not finding jobs.

He called on society to change its perception of this strata of society. Conduct sheets of people who had been released from prison should be cleared of the offenses for which a prison term would have been served so that such persons would not continue to carry their past problem throughout their life.

Labour MP Silvio Parnis expressed solidarity with shipyard employees whose future was uncertain.

Two sectors of people who found it difficult to find a job were drug addicts and the disabled. It was true that drug addicts imposed a burden on society but these people needed assistance. The ETC should also work more seriously to aid and listen more to the disabled.

The estimates were later approved after a division.