Muscat expects 'good budget'

Labour leader Joseph Muscat said he expected the upcoming budget to be a "good" one where families, workers and employers were assured they would not be "surprised" by higher bills and tariffs throughout the year.

During a meeting with Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin representatives, Dr Muscat expressed concern over the cost of living and reiterated his party's proposal to establish maximum tariffs for water and electricity so the price for consumers would be capped.

In a bid to ensure stability, the government should also enter into a political commitment not to increase administrative charges, Dr Muscat said.

Labour was disappointed that despite the introduction of a registration system for medicines that was supposed to keep prices down, medicines were generally still more expensive than the European average.

Taking a leaf from the latest pastoral letter of Gozo Bishop Mario Grech for prices to be just, Dr Muscat emphasised the need for the price monitoring committee created during the euro changeover to be set up again. Dr Muscat dwelt on what he described as the perception that privatisation, liberalisation and competition were one and the same thing.

"Unfortunately, in Malta we saw a lot of privatisation, much less liberalisation and very little competition because state monopolies became private monopolies," he said, referring to the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector as a success story.

Dr Muscat also expressed concern at the increase in precarious jobs, quoting the latest statistics which showed that the increase in the number of part-time jobs as a main source of income was higher than the increase in full-time jobs.

The UĦM delegation was made up of president Gejtu Tanti, his assistant Joe Vella, general secretary Gejtu Vella and his assistant Jesmond Bonello.

Labour deputy leader Anġlu Farrugia accompanied Dr Muscat.