The cost-of-living-allowance should be given to private and public sector workers irrespective of whether the Budget vote goes through, the General Workers’ Union insisted yesterday.
The union said it would not accept a situation where workers do not get their €4.08-a-week compensation for the rise in the cost of living throughout 2012.
It said the COLA is usually granted to all workers on January 1 and insisted that this year they should receive it just the same.
On Monday, the Government will face a crucial vote to approve the Budget, but rebel Nationalist MP Franco Debono has been threatening to vote against it if Transport Minister Austin Gatt remains in Cabinet.
This would effectively force Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to dissolve Parliament and call an election – suspending many Budget measures.
The GWU said the increase was agreed among all the social partners and the Government based on an inflationary formula used for several years.
The Government’s incomes policy stated that the established percentage would be applied on the minimum wage each January 1 and does not cover the scenario of a Budget being voted down.
The procedure was that after the cost-of-living’s announcement in the Budget, the Employment Relations Board approves the increase and the Finance Minister then publishes a legal notice through which the allowance could be granted.
There was nothing to stop this process from being implemented, the union said.
Meanwhile, the Malta Chamber yesterday expressed grave concern about the possibility of the 2013 Budget being rejected by Parliament.
The potential consequences of interrupting the smooth continuity of business are simply too large to contemplate, the chamber said in a statement.
Tax and duty collection, for instance, may be thrown into disarray to the detriment of public coffers, fiscal morality and the reputation of the country as a stable destination for business.
Other areas such as incentives for business, training programmes and social security benefits will all be at risk, the chamber insisted.
“The country so far has weathered the international storm as a result of private sector initiative. Malta must not risk being thrown in a similar predicament as some of its close neighbours due to political differences.”