The minimum wage must increase by €22 a week, Caritas director Mgr Victor Grech said as he questioned whether Labour’s proposal to decrease the electricity tariffs would be enough.
What is sure is that something has to be done if we don’t want to have poor people on the streets
“We still stand by our proposal for a weekly increase of €22 a week in the minimum wage if we want people to come out of poverty,” Mgr Grech insisted.
“Although decreasing electricity tariffs might help, as everything does in this case, it might still not be enough,” he said when contacted.
Mgr Grech said no one really knew how the tariffs were going to come down, nor by how much.
The Nationalist Party and Labour are engaged in a raging controversy following Labour leader Joseph Muscat’s announcement that if elected he will not increase the minimum wage.
Dr Muscat said instead, Labour would cut electricity tariffs.
Accusing Dr Muscat of a massive U-turn while abandoning his original living wage proposal, the PN added he was planning to go back to the 1980s’ wage freeze economic concepts, something the Labour leader has vehemently slammed as a blatant lie.
Labour has explained that, although the weekly minimum wage would still rise according to the cost-of-living adjustments, it would only be increased in line with economic growth.
Mgr Grech said that both political parties knew about a sector of people who were living below the poverty line and who needed help.
“If they don’t agree with our proposal to raise the minimum wage because they feel it will harm competition or productivity, then they should find an alternative,” he said.
“What is sure is that something has to be done if we don’t want to have poor people on the streets.”
According to a study published by Caritas last March, the minimum wage should be raised so that vulnerable families could achieve “a minimum decent” standard of living.
Karm Farrugia, one of the authors of the Caritas study, who describes himself as “an economist with a social conscience”, also took exception to Dr Muscat’s remarks.
In a letter to The Times, Mr Farrugia said the term “irresponsible” used by Dr Muscat to justify the decision not to increase the minimum wage was unfair.
“But couldn’t he (Muscat) have qualified the outright dismissal by something like ‘until the global recession is over’ or ‘until the economy would afford it’,” he wrote.
The minimum wage stands at €8,216 annually and, according to the PN, has been increased by a €1,000 through COLA over the past four years.
In September 2010, through Dr Muscat and Labour MEP Edward Scicluna, the PL had floated the idea of introducing a living wage.
However, following harsh criticism by employers, the proposal was dropped.
Malta’s minimum wage is the 10th highest in the EU.