Since 2008, the General Workers’ Union has been advocating that the Government formulate a vision supported by a strategic plan for Malta. Unfortunately, this proposal was never taken seriously, with some unknown government elements even criticising it as being no more than an old tool reminiscent of the central planning era of former communist regimes.
Nothing could be farther from the truth, so much so that the Nationalist government (with the help of an American expert) had drawn up a vision and a strategic plan for Malta that was called Vision 2015+.
This, however, never seemed to take off and was only mentioned here and there in a number of budgets. This showed that the previous government lacked understanding and belief in strategic planning.
Our standard of living can only catch up with the most advanced EU countries if our GDP growth rate in real terms surpasses that of the other EU countries
Having a strategic plan for the attainment of a vision is a necessary modern management tool to survive in a very competitive globalised market. Those companies, big and small, that go through this process have a much bigger chance of success and growth than those that do not plan ahead and are mostly reactive in the market place.
Having a vision and a strategic plan can in a way be compared to having plans in everyday life. It is like, on the one hand, having a couple that lays out the direction of life together down to the finest detail, such as the building of the family home, wedding plans, careers, the best time to start a family, and, on the other, a happy-go-lucky couple who reacts to circumstances instead of setting its own agenda. The first couple will probably be much more successful in life than the latter.
The Labour Party has been elected and has been given a strong mandate to implement its vision: that Malta will be among the best countries in the EU. This can be measured in many ways but primarily by the standard of living, a very good indicator of whether this objective has been achieved. Our standard of living can only catch up with the most advanced EU countries if our GDP growth rate in real terms surpasses that of the other EU countries and reaches four to six per cent.
It is therefore imperative that the foundations of this strategic plan start to be laid in earnest for all sectors of our economy, the health sector, the labour market, education, energy and the environment. We need to brand our products and services and see what new investment we would like to attract to our shores.
The Labour Party’s road map will play a key role in the formulation of this finalised strategic plan. It is already being beefed up with the detailed plans that have already been rolled out for the energy and education sectors. On the labour market front, the Government, in agreement with all the social partners, has set the ball rolling for the setting up of an action committee to implement an Active Labour Market Policy (Jobs+).
The main objective of this policy is to increase the labour supply, particularly by raising the female participation rate in the labour market and upgrading skills through lifelong learning so that the prospects of workers to be employed in high value-added jobs will improve.
Another benefit of an increase in the labour supply would be that pensions would become more sustainable. However, it is only when we have a real GDP growth rate of between four and six per cent, supported by a long-term strategic plan, that we can meet the demands of a bigger labour supply, especially in high value-added jobs. If this fails, the consequences could well be disastrous because working conditions may deteriorate owing to an excessive supply of labour in certain sectors.
The Government is to be commended for setting up an Action Committee on Economic Growth, which clearly demonstrates a commitment to the formulation of a strategic plan to support the vision of being among the best in the EU.
It is, however, very unfortunate that the Nationalist Party declined the invitation to sit on this committee and to contribute towards the economic development of the country. The Government’s vision is a long-term objective that needs a wide consensus not only among the social partners but also from the Opposition to ensure there will be continuity should there be a change in government.
Unfortunately for our country, the Opposition has still not come to terms with the electoral defeat and thinks that by opposing everything it stands to gain political mileage at the expense of contributing towards Malta’s economic development.
Victor Carachi is president of the General Workers’ Union.