The Labour leader yesterday pledged to implement a plan to stop further accumulation of the national debt if the party is voted to govern in the next election.

Joseph Muscat added, however, that people would have to keep in mind that the existing debt, which had grown over the past 25 years, could not be wiped out in a couple of years.

Dr Muscat was speaking during a General Workers’ Union event in Valletta to mark Workers’ Day, which falls on Sunday.

A member of the audience urged him not to reveal Labour’s plans, to which the PL leader replied that the opposition had drafted a “realistic plan”.

He devoted part of his speech to women, who he said are the key to a sustainable pension system. An increase in the number of women in the workforce would help overcome this challenge, which is one of the most difficult Malta is facing right now.

The pension reform implemented five years ago had not succeeded, he said.

Family policies should not revolve around whether or not divorce should be introduced, but on creating the proper economic and social structure for families.

Family policies are part and parcel of social and economic policies, he said, reiterating that women are a huge resource which is not being used to its full extent. They should be provided with an adequate framework to venture into the labour market and fulfil their professional aspirations. To this end, a sustainable social structure, flexible working hours and cheaper childcare services are essential.

However, men also needed to change their mentality, Dr Muscat said with a smile, possibly aimed at the men in the audience.

Couples should share household responsibilities, because it seemed as if a man’s only chore around the house was to indulge in food when he got back home, he added to the delight of the women present.

Malta had never seen such an effective opposition party: the government had its back to the wall on a number of issues, such as ministers’ salaries and the divorce issue.

The Nationalist Party reacted by saying the opposition leader had lost an opportunity to talk about family policies and instead indulged in a partisan attack.

The pension reform set in motion in 2006 stated clearly that a working group would analyse the development after five years and a strategic revision would be carried out.

The PN pointed to the thousands of jobs saved during the economic crisis and said 2,131 parents had benefited from a tax reduction in relation to child-care-centre services.