A Labour government would be the most feminist government in Malta’s history, Opposition leader Joseph Muscat promised yesterday.

“A new government would have no problem slamming the glass ceiling women are faced with until it’s smashed,” Dr Muscat said.

Dr Muscat was speaking during the third and final meeting at yesterday’s PL congress. The meetings discussed the family, civil rights and work.

The final meeting concluded with members unanimously approving a policy guideline calling for “the work you deserve for a better lifestyle”.

As with previous congress meetings, MPs were conspicuous by their silence, with Dr Muscat saying that “politicians are there to listen, not to talk”.

He insisted the party’s yet-to-be-unveiled electoral manifesto would not be a list of promises but rather a “road map” aimed at raising living standards.

He said it would be “irresponsible” to promise to raise the minimum wage, as doing so would squeeze enterprises and damage Malta’s competitiveness. There were other ways of raising the standard of living, Dr Muscat added, before proceeding to make three promises.

A Labour government would lower electricity tariffs, would not cut stipends and would not raise the pensionable age, he said.

Different topics were raised during the meetings, from the challenges faced by fishermen to discrimination experienced by Muslim Maltese women at school and the workplace.

Disability consultant Joe Gerada insisted that disabled people weren’t looking for charity but for their rights to be respected.

PL executive secretary Lydia Abela reiterated the party’s secular nature and argued that it was not the government’s place to interfere in an individual’s private life.

Millennium chapel director Saviour Grima suggested introducing a subsistence card system, similar to the student smart card, which families on the brink of poverty could use to buy living essentials.

Malta Gay Rights Movement coordinator Gaby Calleja was adamant that there was no excuse for denying LGBT people equality and lawyer Ruth Farrugia suggested it was time to consolidate Malta’s body of law related to children.

She also noted that the Government had yet to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law.

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