The General Workers’ Union yesterday told political parties it was willing to work with them in a new government on one condition: no more empty promises.
Pumping up consumption and debt leads to little improvement in living standards
Economists, industry heads and lobbyists met yesterday for the first of four GWU-organised business breakfasts to discuss a series of proposals the union has presented to political parties.
Discussion ranged from excessive red tape to the dangers of overreliance on specific economic sectors, but it was GWU general secretary Tony Zarb’s warning that echoed most loudly across the room.
“Those who make promises must ensure they are kept. We’re fed up of empty promises being made to workers in the run-up to an election but then not being kept,” he said.
His words came at the end of a discussion of some of the GWU’s economic proposals.
These include revising the cost-of-living-adjustment every six months rather than yearly, establishing minimum hotel rates to prevent damaging price undercutting tactics, including civil society representatives in discussions between social partners and introducing a tax on third properties.
Economist Joe Vella Bonnici decried the lack of strategic planning for Malta’s economy and questioned the orthodoxy of calling for economic growth.
“You can achieve economic growth by pumping up consumption and debt, but that leads to little tangible improvements in living standards. Growth must be accompanied by productivity increases if we are to move forward,” he said.
Mr Vella Bonnici warned of the dangers of overreliance on strong economic sectors such as fish farming and financial services, saying although Malta had done well in exploiting such “opportunistic” niches, they wouldn’t last forever.
That point was also hammered home by Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president Tony Zahra, who warned financial services firms would leave “within 24 hours” if Malta’s tax benefits were to evaporate.
Mr Zahra also had veiled criticism for those who spoke of the need to develop a “knowledge economy”, asking how policymakers could speak of developing this when 37 per cent of local students were leaving school without qualifications.
Journalist Godfrey Grima questioned transparency, accountability and efficiency standards in Malta.
He argued that while all three were key to achieve economic success, all too often the government fell short of the required standards.
Smart City construction delays, the building of Mater Dei hospital, botched public transport reform and the government’s “army of consultants” were all examples of such shortcomings, he said.
Participants also discussed Gozo’s economic needs, with Michael Grech from the Gozo Business Chamber arguing that Malta’s sister island needed to be treated as a distinct economy, with its own niches to exploit.
He suggested turning the university in Gozo into a specialised private university aimed at attracting foreign students to fee-paying courses.
Malta Developers’ Association president Michael Falzon took exception to the inclusion of a proposal for a “hoarding” tax on third properties within the GWU’s proposals.
But Mr Zarb reassured Mr Falzon that none of the proposals were “cast in stone” and offered to meet with the MDA to discuss the matter further.