Unique demographic changes are occurring within Europe. Despite the fact that people are living longer due to amelioration in our lives, fewer children are being born. The European Parliament is aware of these changes and the repercussions it brings to our society. Consequentially, the key issues being discussed in Brussels include a balanced immigration policy, the encouragement for older people to work longer, employment promotion, more attention for family needs, and the reconciliation of work and family life.

Given the needs of modern economy, the concept of family-friendly measures at the workplace is gaining more importance. We are shifting away from the male bread winner model towards a dual-earner formula. Family-friendly measures are needed as they help make the workplace more receptive to the needs of workers with family responsibilities. These responsibilities could vary from the needs of children to parents.

The EU and the ILO, among others, recommend the introduction of such measures as they contribute towards the reconciliation of work and family life, while, at the same time, assist in increasing productivity and expanding equal opportunities.

The importance of decent quality jobs and a good work-life balance was highlighted in the fourth European working conditions survey. Family-friendly measures do not only boost workers' motivation, but they also facilitate the generation of new jobs and increase productivity. As history has shown, there has never been economic growth without a growth in population. Furthermore, due to the demographic challenges mentioned earlier on, we cannot limit our resources solely to the male workforce. As a result, this is a sensitive issue to the EU because the contribution of both sexes is paramount to reach the Lisbon Agenda.

The Lisbon targets entail a bigger participation by women in the labour market, while men will assume more family responsibility in order to reach a proper work-life balance.

Family-friendly measures do not stop at reduced hours. Improving the conditions of part-time workers, national insurance contribution credits, teleworking, responsibility leave and flexible hours are only a token of the many measures that can be introduced to strike a balance between work and family responsibilities.

Furthermore, we should not limit ourselves at designing family-friendly policies only to address female participating in the labour market. Such measures should be aimed at all workers irrespective of gender.

The Maltese government has also embarked on this mission. The pre-budget document A Better Quality Of Life and the budget for 2007 address the current socio-economic needs and global challenges. Efforts are being made to address the low female participation rate in the labour market. Incentives have been introduced to encourage individuals to participate in the regular labour market.

It is important to cultivate a mentality of not being short-sighted in order for both men and women to be entitled to social security and protection benefits, including adequate pensions.

The Maltese government has moved from theory onto facts. It has been decided to extend family-friendly measures to the entire public sector. Thirteen thousand public sector employees shall be benefiting from this. Parents are also allowed to deduct Lm400 from their taxable income to make good for part of the expenses incurred in licensed childcare services.

The measures introduced are not solely in favour of the employee but also of the employer. In cases where employers pay workers for expenses related to childcare services, such expenses shall be deductible from taxable income as they are considered as being business costs. Also, such payments related to childcare services shall no longer be considered as fringe benefits and will therefore no longer be taxable.

Fifty years have passed since the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community (EEC), a process that initiated the European Social Fund (ESF). This fund was set up to improve job opportunities by promoting employment and increasing the geographical and occupational mobility of workers. Presently, the ESF contributes to advance the employment prospects and skills of people across the 27 member states of the EU.

Malta has been utilising this fund wisely, including to introduce family-friendly measures at the work place.

In order to better utilise this fund, it would be advisable that additional campaigns are launched in order to target specific groups, such as males in families, which, in turn, could serve to attract both females and males to the workforce.

Trade unions should continue to enhance dialogues in tailoring conditions that are advantageous both to employers and also to their employees. Employers should also train HR managers on how to exploit the benefits of family-friendly measures for their own interest as it has been proven that, among other benefits, these types of measures have reduced tardiness and absenteeism and increase workers' motivation which, in turn, would help increase productivity.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

david.casa@europarl.europa.eu

www.davidcasa.eu