Opposition leader Joseph Muscat wants Malta to be at the forefront of an “exciting new concept” being studied across Europe: the introduction of a living wage.
“Rather than waiting for other countries to introduce it and then follow suit in 20 years’ time, we should be among the first to do so,” he said.
The living wage is a calculation of how much money a person needs to live decently in a particular country.
Companies that offer such wages could be rewarded through incentives, Dr Muscat said, adding that the concept should be studied further as part of discussions on the minimum wage.
In several countries the living wage is being studied as a more realistic way of combating poverty, since the minimum wage tends to fall short of what people need to live a decent life.
Whereas the minimum wage is stipulated by law to ensure companies do not pay wages below that threshold, the living wage is seen as something to be encouraged rather than imposed.
Interviewed by journalist James Debono on the party’s radio station, Dr Muscat said that once in government he would fight corruption, strengthen the economy instead of raising taxes, and surround himself by people who had faith in his electoral programme.
Asked if he would make calls for applications for public appointments, he said he would appoint people on the basis of meritocracy and their capabilities, “but if I want to go north, I can’t have a captain who wants to go south”.
He said his priority would not be to please the media by appointing people from all sides of the political spectrum.
Meanwhile, he promised he would not let the public be made to pay for the errors of this government, particularly in terms of the BWSC power station contract, currently being investigated by the EU.
However, when pressed about how he would ensure this, especially when it came to EU-imposed fines, Dr Muscat was vague in his reply: “The mechanisms exist. If they don’t we will create them.”
Dr Muscat said his government would wait for the European Commission’s opinion on the controversial BWSC case and would then take the necessary action.
However, his priority would be to protect whistleblowers and ensure corrupt people paid for their mistakes, rather than the taxpayers.
On irregular immigration, Dr Muscat said the situation had improved in Malta thanks to the agreement between Italy and Libya, not because of the EU or the Maltese government, which he accused of doing nothing.
He said he was not convinced that there was a humanitarian crisis in Libya, primarily because no “mainstream” report had confirmed this.
Around Europe, he said, workers who used to vote for communist parties have begun voting for far-right parties because socialist governments were weak on immigration.
He said he agreed that defending the national interest should be the priority.
Xenophobia must be combated, he argued, but a country should only accept legitimate immigrants, and only if it had the resources to give them what they needed.
“I don’t think we should throw people in tents and then say we saved them from drowning,” he said.