Over 8,000 mothers benefited from tax refunds, amounting to €8 million in total, by returning to work after giving birth, the government said.

The refunds had been announced in the 2009 Budget when mothers were given the opportunity to either opt for a one-year tax holiday or get a tax exemption of up to €2,000 over a two-year period for every child they bore since 2007.

The government said the refunds were among measures aimed at encouraging more women to join the labour market.

Malta has one of the lowest rates of working females in the EU. The pre-Budget document showed that, in the 20-49-year age group, the employment rate in European countries stood at 68.1 per cent in contrast with Malta’s 54.3 per cent.

The government said that over the past few years it had implemented various family-friendly measures. Between 2005 and 2010, 3,287 people employed in the public sector benefited from these measures.

The government had opened several child care centres and worked to protect women through policies and laws. Recently, a new legal notice made it illegal to fire a pregnant woman during her maternity leave unless the reasons were justified in writing. The law also allowed the suspension of the probation period for pregnant women, the government said.