The GRTU has insisted that when tax amnesties are declared by the government, the funds should be channelled to bonds for special projects - including helping Air Malta - thus easing pressure on the deficit.

The chamber said it found it hard to accept that the government was continuing to finance projects in spite of the continuous warning from the EU Commission that the Budget deficit position could not take the pressure.

"What this in practice means is that Malta runs the risk of slowing its economic revival after the recession as support programmes to enterprise will have to be curtailed or, even worse, that austerity measures including increased taxation will have to be introduced to ensure the financial dismal gap is closed as soon as possible."

The GRTU regretted that in its last tax amnesties, the government had enabled those who benefited to dumped their cash in the property market.

"Now Government is at it again. It has just financed Air Malta from state funds, our taxpayers funds, and again put our national effort to close the deficit gap at great peril. And we all know don’t we that the €57m pumped in Air Malta are not enough. We all know how well Government experts do their projections, don’t we all know."

This, the GRTU said, was a great opportunity for the government to create special bonds and encurage those who still keep their millions abroad or hidden in Malta to bring them out in the open and amnestied only if they place their funds in the bonds earmarked for Air Malta or for other projects that may be needed to provide alternative jobs for those who would be made redundant.

The GRTU said it was against the endangering of the deficit further simply because the government could not come to terms with the speculators who unscrupulously milked the system.