FOI proposes Labour take part in social pact talks

A Labour Party led by Joseph Muscat would be willing to take part in all fora where the party was treated by the government as an equal, the leadership contender said yesterday during a visit to the Federation of Industry (FOI).

Dr Muscat was replying to a proposal by the FOI to include the MLP in talks for a social pact in order to avoid repeating mistakes made when the topic was last discussed.

Attempts to reach a social pact failed in November 2004 after several months of discussion between the social partners.

FOI vice president Anton Borg said the 2004 talks had been tainted by politics, especially by the unions. Should talks start again, there was a greater possibility of success if such a mistake were not repeated.

So, if the government could perhaps accept the MLP in the talks as a partner, the party could share the responsibility for the pact and it could be more of a national effort.

Dr Muscat said that should he be elected leader of the party, he was willing to collaborate with the government and share ideas in an open dialogue wherever Labour, which had almost as many votes as the government, was treated as an equal partner in order for the country to achieve the maximum level of success in the shortest time possible.

Dr Muscat also said that fiscal policy and taxation should be used as an incentive to promote commerce and expand the economy and not simply as a tax-collecting measure. Businesses should be given incentives in line with European regulations to invest in equipment that was less damaging to the environment.

This would help Malta reach EU aims on emissions and incentives.

At the same time, costs and bureaucracy should be cut to encourage business. He welcomed the new European legislation on small businesses saying this was a positive step but it was not enough.

Dr Muscat stressed that businesses should respect workers' rights and not find escape clauses in the law for such rights not to be given.

He appealed to the FOI and other constituted bodies to lead by example and encourage their members to give workers their rights.

Should he be elected, he would set up a Social Dialogue Unit within the party to serve as a continuous contact point between the party and the social partners.