The Labour leader has said his party does not have a problem with changing its position over the living wage concept, which it had proposed two years ago in a bid to raise the living standard of a swathe of low wage earners.

It takes courage to change one’s opinion or stand but when this is done on a fundamental issue, or too often, it does not reflect well on whoever decides to change course as it may be interpreted as showing either lack of foresight, knowledge or judgement.

Labour has in the past changed course on other issues, most notably EU membership. The minimum wage is not as profoundly politically important but, nonetheless, it is significant as it affects many people.

The PL is now arguing that it would be better to cut costs and to bring about greater economic growth first before improving the minimum wage. Predictably, such an argument found immediate support from employers. Surprisingly, approval was also forthcoming from some trade unions.

Even more surprisingly, these included Labour’s strongest ally, the General Workers’ Union, which is likely to have been critical had this comment been made by the Nationalist Party.

Certain other unions, however, strongly disagreed with this view.

FORUM, a relatively new trade union organisation, recalled that last March a Caritas study found that 6,316 people could not afford the basic necessities required for a decent living and that low-income families were struggling to survive.

Caritas had proposed that the minimum wage go up from €158 to €180 per week, saying: “Malta would still have workers on the minimum wage and the current €158 weekly only means a rougher time for these workers.”

Is all this now going to be swept under the carpet? Would a reduction in the energy tariffs alone extricate these people from the situation they are in?

Yes, education would, in the long term, empower those on the minimum wage to shift to higher paid jobs but what happens to those who, for various reasons, may be unable to take up State assistance to help them improve their position in life?

Lawrence Gonzi was quick to accuse Labour of wanting to resort to a minimum wage freeze but the PL is saying it has no intention of depriving minimum wage earners of the rise decreed annually by the Government across the board to make up for the rise in the cost of living (COLA).

Indeed, in the ongoing controversy over such COLA adjustments one argument in the employers’ camp has been to restrict the rise to minimum wage earners and non-unionised labour and to let unions negotiate pay rises within the context of collective agreements.

The Government has been against this as, it argues, the system has ensured industrial stability.

With the country now already in an election campaign mode, it is most unlikely that a rational discussion can be held on such a sensitive matter.

This has been in evidence in the past week as the parties traded accusations and counter accusations over their respective stands.

In the midst of this, Joseph Muscat ill-advisedly said he would launch a libel action against the PN for a billboard. This is churlish behaviour.

The row also detracts from the importance of addressing an issue which can make the difference to an often unheard sector of our community.

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