Four MLP proposals already in force

At least four of the Labour Party's electoral proposals have already been implemented, The Sunday Times has learnt.

Approved during the party's extraordinary general conference earlier this week, the MLP's electoral programme features the proposals made in various party policy documents.

However, the proposal concerning maternity leave has already been introduced. The Labour Party is proposing that the 14th week of maternity leave should also be compensated. In the Budget for 2008, the Government had increased maternity leave allocation by one week to 14 weeks and during this period, workers are paid in full.

Another MLP proposal giving a tax credit to companies which finance sport or cultural activities was also introduced in the Budget.

During the Budget speech, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said: "Companies which provide financial assistance to recognised non-profit making cultural organisations and/or to the Arts Fund will be able to deduct these grants from their taxable income... Companies which provide assistance or grant scholarships to Maltese artists will be entitled to deduct these grants from their taxable income up to a maximum of €18,600 (Lm8,000)."

The third MLP proposal concerns foster care. Labour is promising to create a proper legislative framework on foster care and is also pledging to update the laws on adoption.

But the Foster Care Act came into force on November 16, and the Adoption Administration Act was published on February 1, and will come into force on May 1. In addition to these two laws, during the Budget for 2008 the Government increased child-in-care benefit, which is also available to fostered children, from €27.95 (Lm12) to €39.59 (Lm17) a month, in order to give more assistance to foster carers. Moreover, the fee to legalise adoption documents has now been abolished.

Another pledge Labour included in its electoral manifesto published earlier this week was to remove the St Luke's Hospital incinerator and provide more modern facilities.

Last December 15, and after years of complaints, the Government finally shut down and decommissioned the hospital incinerator. Instead, it began operating a modern incinerator, which was built through financial assistance provided to Malta through the Italian Protocol.

When contacted, MLP general secretary Jason Micallef acknowledged that a number of proposals had already been implemented in the last Budget, but said that the Government had lifted them from the Labour Party's policy papers.

Mr Micallef said the electoral manifesto was a summary of the policy papers that the party prepared over the last few years in the run-up to the election. He said the Government had - even though it failed to admit the fact - adopted some of Labour's ideas and included them in the Budget.

He also pointed out that there were other ideas such as the removal of VAT on education that were not included in the original programme but were then added.