Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this evening that progress had started being made at Arms Ltd, but no bonuses would be given until the people started to see that progress.

Dr Gonzi was replying tin Parliament to comments made on Monday by Opposition leader Joseph Muscat, who said that somebody had approved bonuses to the Arms Ltd manager. Yesterday the Finance Ministry said that bonuses had been given for last year, not this year.

Dr Gonzi in the first part of his speech highlighted progress made by his government (see separate story) .

He stressed that he was not saying that everything was perfect. Much remained to be done. The international crisis was not past. The US was still speaking of quantitative easing. Austerity measure abroad would have an impact on Malta.

AIR MALTA

A challenge for Malta was Air Malta.

Dr Gonzi said he appreciated that the Opposition was ready to cooperate with the government for their common purpose of having a viable, competitive national airline which continued to serve the country. The airline was a lifeline for Malta and it was strategically important for Malta to have an airline which it could control.

Jobs, Dr Gonzi said, also remained a challenge because some people still could not find a job, particularly those who were in the 50s and others who lacked training.

The government also wanted to see women’s participation rate in the labour force increase through better work-family balance including longer maternity leave as long as competitiveness was maintained.

More remained to be done on air quality and renewable energy.

The government also needed to avoid a repeat of what happened at Arms Ltd. Progress there had started being made, but no bonus would be paid there until the people really started to feel the change.

Malta, Dr Gonzi said, also needed to do more for migrants to have their dignity respected.