The government has accepted a proposal by the Malta Police Association for it to be transformed into a union, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning.

Thanking the police for all their work related to traffic, Dr Gonzi said police officers would have the right to be members of a union without having the right to strike.

Speaking in Marsascala, Dr Gonzi said this was a measure which would help the police to make further strides forward. He did not elaborate

The Prime Minister spoke on the country's debt and said that while it was true that Malta paid €500,000 a day in interest on debt, €1 billion of its debt had been made by the shipyards.

It was working to reduce this debt but it also had to be pointed out that while Malta's debt was 69 per cent of its gross domestic product, Germany's was 81 per cent.

The government also invested €1 million a day in education, €1 million a day in health care and €2.5 million on pensions and social benefits.

The government dedicated its time to finding the required finances for the country to continue to obtain results, he said.

The Prime Minister said that for the first time in Maltese history more than 40 per cent of people in employment were women. This was not a coincidence but the result of a series of measures the government had taken.

It was now increasing the 14 weeks maternity leave period by another four weeks over two years with the government paying a €160 allowance per week.

The Prime Minister referred to his visit to Tripoli this afternoon and said that he will be making the first political contact to lead a political and business delegation to the neighbour state in the near future.

Dr Gonzi spoke on the Labour leader's promise to reduce water and electricity rates and said one was now starting to see that this was a promise which could not be kept.

For Dr Muscat was binding his promise to an investment about which there were still many questions which needed an answer.