An active labour market policy endorsed by the social partners earlier this year will start to be implemented tomorrow, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this afternoon.
Drafted by the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, the Jobs Plus policy document suggests measures to ensure the creation of a flexible and productive labour market. It was signed by social partners some months ago and backed by political parties during the electoral campaign.
Speaking during a PL-organised Labour Day rally in Hamrun, Dr Muscat again warned employers against mistreating their employees or coercing them to not join a trade union.
Employers who resorted to such tactics would not receive any public contracts and would feel the full force of the law, he said.
Dr Muscat hinted that a new "exciting" educational project would be unveiled in the next few days. The project, he said, would "open up career paths to all Maltese and Gozitan youths".
The Prime Minister spoke at length about a new postgraduate scholarship scheme which will be rolled out next week. The Master It scheme, as it has been dubbed, will see €2 million worth of EU funds invested in scholarships by the end of this year.
People without an undergraduate degree will still be eligible, provided they have been accepted into a postgraduate course at a foreign university. Bursaries will also be available for part-time and distance learning courses, with additional funds for those studying overseas, student parents and Gozitans studying in Malta.
The Prime Minister also expressed dismay at the Opposition's refusal to sit on an economic growth action committee. Nationalist MP Tonio Fenech will not join the committee members after the PN argued that the role would be tantamount to the Opposition acting as a Government consultant.
"They said that it isn't their job to help the Government," Dr Muscat told the crowd, "but it is Maltese people and Maltese businesses that they would be helping".
He invited the PN Opposition to come round to the idea, saying that the Government would not act stubbornly and was eager to see meaningful bipartisan cooperation.