Labour intends to “freeze all wages” if in government, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech reiterated yesterday, citing a comment made by Labour Party MP Owen Bonnici as “proof”.

In the clip, Mr Bonnici can be heard saying that PL leader Joseph Muscat’s position was that both the minimum wage “and other wages too” should only increase “when the economy healed”.

“It’s clear that Labour wants to leave the middle class in the freezer. Maltese workers should be very concerned about Joseph Muscat and his wage-freezing policy,” Mr Fenech said yesterday.

When contacted by The Times, Dr Bonnici dismissed the PN’s claims as “ridiculous” and suggested Mr Fenech concentrate on managing the economy “rather than resort to cheap lies”.

Dr Muscat last week said it would be irresponsible to increase the minimum wage in the current economic climate.

That position has been pounced on by the PN, which has said his statement meant a complete freeze of minimum wages, without cost-of-living-adjustment increases.

The PL has insisted that the PN is purposely misinterpreting its position and that COLA increases would continue to be paid out as usual under a PL administration.

And in a press conference held yesterday afternoon, PL industry spokesman Chris Cardona noted that the two main parties’ position on the issue was identical. Dr Cardona played journalists a video clip dating back to March 2010 in which Mr Fenech, flanked by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, is seen saying that increasing the minimum wage would be counterproductive.

“They say the exact same thing as us but then put up billboards claiming the PL wants a minimum wage freeze,” Dr Cardona argued as he chided the government as “hypocritical”.

The PN has put up several billboards with the claim over recent days. Dr Muscat has said the billboards are libellous and indicated he will be taking top PN officials to court.

His libel action was criticised yesterday by parliamentary secretary Beppe Fenech Adami, who said it was tantamount to “gagging the PN and the media from reporting his own words”.

But Dr Fenech Adami and Mr Fenech only took one round of questions yesterday, with journalists not allowed to ask more than a question each.

Mr Fenech said the minimum wage had risen by €1,000 over the past four years.

At his earlier press conference, Dr Cardona had insisted that any minimum wage increases over the past two decades have all come from COLA increases, with the minimum wage’s actual rate unchanged for the past 20 years.

Asked whether the PN would increase the minimum wage over and above COLA increases, Mr Fenech opted to reply by attacking Dr Muscat.

“Dr Muscat’s position is categorical and it’s also a reversal from his earlier proposal about introducing a national living wage. I raised the minimum wage four times,” the minister said.

“The PN’s policy is clear: we want people competing for well-paid jobs, their purchasing power reinforced. Joseph Muscat wants wages to remain frozen until he decides the economy is performing well enough,” Mr Fenech said.

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