The previous administration marked Freedom Day as some sort of Armed Forces Day. With the utmost respect that every one of us should have for the men and women who dedicate their lives to protect us, I believe that such a view did not do justice to the true meaning of Freedom Day.
Looking at the concept offreedom from a strictly geo-political and military point of view would be, in my opinion, missing the point.
In taking the political decisions they did, our forebears acted with a clear goal in mind: to liberate Malta from the military presence of a foreign power, but this within the context of a greater vision. That vision was to give Malta and its people a future free from the chains of an economy largely dependent on military expenditure.
Freedom Day marked the clear and unequivocal statement by the people of Malta that they wanted a thriving economy based on peace.
It is with these thoughts in mind that I found myself reflecting on the meaning of Freedom Day now on its 37th anniversary. I asked myself whether we are free today or better still on what is and can be done to ensure that the Maltese people truly experience freedom to the fullest extent possible in their lives.
To me, poverty and social dependence remain the chains tying many among us down. Around the world millions are still living below the poverty line. Millions, especially women, are being exploited.
Millions are still living in modern day slavery. These people are not free and it is our duty to act in their defence.
We, in Malta, also need to be vigilant. The reality of social dependence exists among us as much as it does everywhere else.
Poverty and social dependence remain the chains tying many among us down
The Labour government has taken to heart this fight against social dependency by putting into effect decisive measures intended to help people, whether the young unemployed, families, or the elderly.
One success story in this context has been the government’s determined action to help parents, especially women, return to gainful employment, through such measures as the introduction of free child care for pre-school children. Indeed, during the past three years approximately 12,000 women have entered the labour market. The results speak for themselves.
As a result of the country’s economic success, in just one year the number of people depending on social benefits went down from 10,000 to 7,000. This means that in just one year 3,000 people were able to attain economic freedom.
It is a simple logical observation, the more the economy booms, the more people are engaged in the labour market. This is, in fact, the reason why today we have the lowest levels of unemployment ever.
Moreover, the more the economy grows the more resources would be available for the government to help those that for one reason or another would still require assistance. The elderly easily come to mind.
Last year 12,000 pensioners got a real rise in their pension for the first time in almost 25 years. And the Prime Minister is on record saying that another increase in pensions is in the pipeline.
The fight against social dependency cannot ignore the need to be constantly vigilant in the fight against precarious work conditions.
As a result of measures that this government has taken, aimed at ensuring that public contracts respect every worker’s rights, 2,000 people have already been lifted out of precarious work conditions. It is estimated that a further 400 will have their situation rectified this year.
Going forward, I believe that more can be achieved if we, as a society, embrace job flexibility. To tackle social dependency, we also need to ensure that all those willing and able to work can do so. To achieve this we need to invest in a culture where achieving a work-life balance is recognised as essential.
For this to happen, not only must government act decisively as an employer but also from the policy perspective by incentivising the private sector to embrace the necessary workplace culture changes necessary to achieve this in the shortest time possible.
Only in this way will we be able to make ours a more just society, where those who require assistance will find this to the levels that they require but where all those who can break the cycle of dependency are given the greatest levels of support and opportunity to do so.
Claudette Abela Baldacchino is President of Nisa Laburisti.