Employers want to stop paying 13 weeks of maternity leave and are calling on the Government to shoulder the cost instead.

The Malta Employers Association proposed the phasing out of the expense currently being paid by employers, it said in a set of Budget proposals.

Association president Joe Farrugia said the cost of maternity leave, estimated to be around €3 million-a-year, was a burden on employers – unlike other EU countries.

This, in turn, affected women who wanted to find jobs as they are at a “competitive disadvantage” with men.

When Times of Malta pointed out that it would add an extra burden on the Government, Mr Farrugia said the money could be found through better and more efficient use of government funds.

He referred to the fact that the public sector had increased by more than 1,000 people in a year at an estimated cost of €25 million.

This, together with wage inflation resulting from collective agreements in the public sector, creates serious constraints on Government expenditure and fiscal targets, the association pointed out.

In their proposals, they welcomed the proposal to reduce income tax rates and recommended that VAT registration thresholds were adjusted upwards to reflect the increase in inflation. These should be “automatically increased annually by the inflation rate,” they said.

Turning to energy, the MEA suggested the Government should give priority to commercial rates when the prices were revised as it would work in everyone’s interest to generate employment and, in turn, competitiveness.

It also called for a unit for small and medium enterprises that would work as a specialised agency focusing on their needs. This would eliminate the “current fragmentation” that exists.