Snapshot of the Maltese family

The chairman of the Family Affairs Committee, Jean Pierre Farrugia, said that an international study by the Relationship Foundation found that the most acute family problems in 25 EU states were:

Striking a work-life balance is an area of concern

• maternity/paternity leave,
• child care costs,
• fertility rates/births to women between the ages of 15 and 19,
• making ends meet,
• care of the elderly and the disabled and
• work stress.

The committee was trying to find convergence on priorities in the work-life balance needed for strong family relationships.

Professor Angela Abela, director of the University Centre for Family Studies, said that a silent revolution was taking place in Malta. Although only 40 per cent of the women in Malta were in employment, the pattern was changing radically according to different age groups.

The female work participation for the 25 to 29 year group showed a rise of 14 per cent from 56 per cent of the female working population in 2001 to 70 per cent in 2010. This was the highest in all EU member states over the same period, meaning the country was shifting from a traditional society to one of working couples.

The increase in female work parti­cipation also increased in the 30 to 34 year groups from 49 to 60 per cent and among the 35 to 39 year group from 27 to 50 per cent.

The statistics were the result of research made by 39 members of diverse professions. The research also showed that 31 per cent of women bearing a child were prepared to return to work after six months to be able to cope with the family’s financial burdens.

Labour MP Justyne Caruana said studies showed that, if the working female participation rate in Malta increased to 100 per cent, this would lead to a 50 per cent increase in the GDP.

Part-time employment among males in Malta increased from 4.4 per cent in 2000 to five per cent in 2010 when the EU average decreased by 1.5 per cent.

Another study found that 52 per cent of the Maltese work more than nine hours daily with 13 per cent of them working over 11 hours. Some 65 per cent continued working at home. Prof. Abela said this showed that striking a work-life balance was an area of concern.

She also referred to low fertility rates in Malta at 0.4 per cent, adding that maternity leave was a need and had to be even longer.

NSO statistics showed 27 per cent of births in Malta were outside marriage. In 29 per cent of such births in 2010, the father was declared as “unknown” but this did not necessarily mean that there was no relationship between the child and the father.

Fifty-six per cent of single parents were in risk of poverty and were either unemployable or engaged in precarious work.

Marie Louise Coleiro (PL) said that, during the last 12 years, there was a sharp rise of 6.6 per cent in the poverty rate among single and separated parents.

Prof. Abela remarked that there was a need to understand family dynamics better. She said that research carried out by the professionals showed the need of greater support to families.

She added that other research showed that many parents did not have a second child because of stress they suffered in coping with their family responsibilities.

Dr Farrugia said that there was the need to increase the birth rate. Prof. Abela said this demographic and economic challenge had to be addressed urgently because the country was already late on such an issue. The low birth rate did not only concern women but also the economy.

Labour MP Marie Louise Coleiro Preca remarked that there was the need for the parliamentary committee to screen draft legislation and legal notices connected to family issues. She said that a recent legal notice on hours in the private sector – where an employer could employ a worker for 10 hours in one week and 70 hours in another – would lead to a heavily negative impact on the work-life balance.

There is a need to understand family dynamics better

Dr Farrugia, as chairman, said the committee would inform the government and should have its own experts to screen such legislation. Funds were needed for the Centre for the Studies of the Family to be engaged in such screening. Prof. Abela underlined that family policies should target all types of family in Malta and should give priority to issues of poverty, mental health, disability and low-educated couples. These policies had to be evidenced based.

The professionals’ research concluded that assistance to families had to be given within the community with emphasis on early intervention for children, on relationship education and on life-work balance.

There was a need to increase psychological services offered by the government because of large waiting lists and also the need to provide better conditions of work to professionals in the caring sector. Psychologists were leaving government service while social workers were overstretched.

The research proposed the setting up of family resource centres in different towns and villages with multi-disciplinary teams to focus on early intervention as regards health and education issues.

School buildings could be used after school hours for this service. It was important to establish better links between the family and the school. This led to making better reflective parents.

Prof. Abela emphasised that if Malta did not think on how to bring up children, the country would be facing severe problems of neglect in the future.

MPs Charló Bonnici (PN) and Carmelo Abela (PL) together with Centre representatives Prof. Marianne Lauri and Dr Ruth Farrugia also participated in the meeting.