The government should come up with ways to compensate all families for the burdens it was imposing on them if the cost-of-living-adjustment should amount to just 58c a week, the Nationalist Party said yesterday.

It was reacting to a pledge made by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Sunday to assist small-income families.

He had said the 58c weekly wage rise was not sufficient.

The PN recalled Dr Muscat’s street protests, while in opposition, over COLA increases that were higher than this one.

Dr Muscat could not be believed because the Maltese people were still being charged substantially higher prices for petrol and diesel than four years ago, when international oil prices were the same as they were now.

If the COLA mechanism was really indicating a raise of only 58c, the government should compensate all families for burdens such as the higher cost of fuel and hidden taxes such as the recent increase in exam fees, the PN said.