Budget incentives to lure women back to work - PM

The government is to introduce further incentives in the Budget to raise female participation in the labour market, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

Speaking at the Nationalist Party club in Hamrun, just four days before Budget Day, Dr Gonzi stressed the importance of women's involvement in the economy and said that the government would build on the incentives introduced in previous years.

While in the 2005 Budget the government had introduced a one-year tax holiday for women returning to work after five years, it promoted training and childcare services in the Budget for this year.

"The measures will be retained this year and others will be introduced. I will not say more at this stage. Those who are curious have to wait till Wednesday evening," Dr Gonzi said jokingly.

He said the Nationalist government had a track record in encouraging female participation in the labour market. "In 2000, we changed the employment law, introducing family- friendly measures, flexitime and protection for part-timers," he said.

The PN has always believed that women should be encourage to work, as long as this should not happen to the detriment of the family, Dr Gonzi said.

The presence of women in important decision-making posts - directors and permanent secretaries in ministries and chairpersons and chief executive officers of public organisations - had increased significantly in recent years, Dr Gonzi said, mentioning the recent appointment of two women judges.

On employment in general, Dr Gonzi said the number of gainfully occupied had risen by more than 1,000 over last year - a significant leap considering that 4,000 workers retired this year while another 1,000 jobs were lost with the closure of two textile manufacturers - Denim Services Limited and Lloyd Shoes.

It was true that the traditional manufacturers were losing ground, but Malta was gaining value added through the pharmaceutical industry and new opportunities in the services sector, he said.

According to National Statistics Office data, those workers who had both a full-time and part-time job had increased from 17,000 last year to 18,400 this year, he emphasised.

Employment in the private sector also showed positive results, as jobs increased from 91,500 in 2005 to 93,500 this year.

Dr Gonzi said it came as no surprise, therefore, that Malta was ranked among the most attractive and interesting places for foreign investment among other European Union members. The country had also placed third on the list of EU countries which achieved the highest economic growth in the first quarter of 2006.

The PN leader said these positive results had not been achieved as a coincidence but as a result of a sound economic policy.