The Nationalist Party will be meeting with Church NGO Caritas to discuss a report which found that the minimum wage is too low and leads to poverty.

The report, entitled A Minimum Essential Budget for a Decent Living, was published by Caritas yesterday and followed up a similar one carried out back in 2012.

The study focused on three low-income household categories: families made up of two adults and two dependent children (aged between 10 and 15), a single parent family with two dependent children and an elderly couple.

It found that families with dependent children living on one minimum wage, or those who are on unemployment benefits could not afford to buy most basic items to live a decent life.

Addressing a press conference this morning, shadow social policy minister Paula Mifsud Bonnici said the report showed poverty in Malta was on the rise.

“The writing is on the wall, we have a situation were not only is the risk of poverty a growing concern – for a growing number of people it has gone beyond just a risk,” she said.

Asked if she agreed that the minimum wage should be increased, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said policy reactions would have to follow discussions with all parties involved.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said the report made a number of policy recommendations which merited discussion, even among the social partners.

The PN, she added, would be coming out with its own set of recommendations following a meeting with Caritas in the coming days.