Labour leader Joseph Muscat has called on the social partners to submit their proposals on how to face the challenges ahead, after the government increased the surcharge and announced it will be revising the tariffs for water and electricity.

Dr Muscat yesterday sent a letter to all Malta Council for Social Economic Development members and other social partners, saying he was prepared to meet them to discuss viable alternatives and strategies to address the way the government was conducting politics.

The letter follows the surcharge increase, which practically doubled to 95 per cent, and the news of a revised system for water and electricity tariffs.

"Unfortunately, the government chose to take these decisions alone, without consultation, as you yourselves (social partners) remarked," he said.

In the light of the economic impact such decisions will have, Dr Muscat felt partisan politics should not prevail because the quality of life of families, the country's competitiveness and national productivity would suffer.

The Infrastructure Ministry retaliated saying it was disgusted with the Labour Party's hypocrisy to ignore the reality and pretend it did not understand the soaring prices of crude oil on the international market.

"While Joseph Muscat pretends that any consultation with him will make any difference, the government reiterates its commitment to carry out extensive and effective consultation with the social partners before revising the tariffs, the same way it did before introducing the surcharge," it said.