Family-friendly measures 'must not undermine competitiveness'

Employers and the Prime Minister agreed this morning on the need for more family-friendly measures to encourage women to join the labour force but said that such measures should not undermine competitiveness.

The issue was raised at a breakfast meeting hosted by the PN ahead of the Independence anniversary.

The Director-General of the Malta Employers’ Association, Joe Farrugia, complained of the shortage of skills in important sector such as tourism, information technology and health. He also expressed concerns that inflation could put pressure on wages, insisting that wages had to be linked to productivity because it was only through increased productivity that Malta could retain competitiveness.

He also expressed concern that social benefits could be discouraging workers from seeking employment, and fuelling the black economy.

Mr Farrugia said the employers agreed that family-friendly measures were beneficial, but only as long as they did not interrupt production. Such measures, he said, should be customised and not imposed across the board. A market which was too regimented could be detrimental to the economy, he said.

GWU General Secretary Tony Zarb said the workers were seeing their purchasing power being eroded, but trade unions were finding it increasingly difficult to achieve an increase in salaries.

He warned that Malta could be facing a problem of exploitation of legal and illegal immigrants to the detriment of Maltese workers. The GWU, he said, would issue a position paper on this shortly.

MUT president John Bencini said the possibility of reduced hours could see a number of teachers returning to class.

Sandra Sladden, who heads the ETC, said unemployment in Malta was below average. She too spoke on the need to address the way how social benefits could be discouraging training and employment. Dr Sladden complained that a number of workers who were sent on training promptly produced medical certificates as a way out. It was also the time to revise the penalties for workers caught working illegally, she said.

Alan Camilleri, chairman of Malta Enterprise, insisted that labour costs needed to be controlled if Malta was to remain competitive in a cut-throat market. He suggested the drawing up of a road map on Malta’s future skills needs.

Winding up, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi referred to students’ stipends and said they would be retained, not for political reasons, but because their purpose was being achieved and more young people were continuing to study.

He stressed the importance of family- friendly measures to increase the female participation rate in the workforce, adding however that in seeking to attract more women to employment, the country should not undermine family values. Nor should Malta undermine its competitiveness.

Dr Gonzi reiterated the government’s view that the private sector as the motor of the economy, with the main role of the government being to appoint regulatory bodies.

He referred to the budget and said the country should not be afraid of taking decisions for change for the common good.