Every so often we read about the findings of surveys conducted by the European Union in the 28 member states, as well as other countries. When conducing these surveys, very often the EU publishes data by country as well. One of the most recent ones has been the Eurobarometer survey conducted last November and published in February of this year.
Apart from the Eurobarometer, the EU and its agencies also conduct surveys on specific themes. Two surveys that were conducted in recent years, and which are in effect conducted every five years, were the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS).
The findings have been published and are accessible online. Both these surveys were commissioned by Eurofound, an EU agency whose role is to provide knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies.
EU data is of particular interest to me as Misco conducts the Eurobarometer survey in Malta as well as these other thematic surveys.
Social equity should be our priority as much as economic growth is
Both the EWCS, conducted in 2015, and the EQLS, conducted in 2016, reflect a very buoyant economy. The data also confirms that the outlook of the Maltese is more similar to that found in the northern European members of the EU than to that found in the southern European and eastern European members of the EU.
For example, 72 per cent of respondents in Malta stated that they are optimistic about their future and 77 per cent stated that they are optimistic about the children’s and grandchildren’s future.
Moreover, on a scale of one to 10, the Maltese rate their level of happiness at just under eight and rate their level of satisfaction with the life they lead at around 7.5, in both cases above the European average.
Malta is in the top one-third among the EU member states on these issues. The perceived standard of living is also quite high in Malta, with a rating of 7.3 on a scale of one to 10.
The quality of public services is also rated very highly in Malta. The average for Malta is the fourth highest among the member states at 7.1 on a scale of one to 10. The areas that pull the average down for Malta are public transport and the state pension system. The areas which pull the average up for Malta are health, education, childcare services and long-term care services.
In terms of employment, Malta is the country that reported the highest percentage of respondents, among the 28 member states of the EU, which stated that employment in their workplace has increased in the three years prior to the survey. Malta is also the country with the highest percentage of respondents who stated that they have good career prospects for advancement.
Besides, 66 per cent of the Maltese describe their personal job situation as positive and only six per cent describe it negatively. Only two per cent expect their personal job situation to get worse in the coming 12 months.
There is other data in the two surveys and the Eurobarometer surveys, some of which is positive and some of which may be negative. However, what struck me as a discordant note in all this data, is the perceived level of social exclusion. In this case, the data for Malta is not better than the EU average and our results are closer to those of countries that face severe economic problems.
However, whereas one may understand that in a country facing severe economic problems, persons may feel socially excluded, in a country that is doing well economically, this is less understandable.
This is what brings me to the title of this week’s contribution. I have often written that we should all be proud of our country’s economic performance. We have all contributed to it and it is the result of years and decades of effort on the part of everyone. Seeking to attribute Malta’s economic success to one segment or another of society is indeed a travesty of the truth.
However, we should also all appreciate that we have achieved our economic success while maintaining a high degree of social equity. The great extent of social cohesion in our country has rendered our country very stable and, therefore, attractive to investors. We achieved a high level of social cohesion because we have had successive governments that managed to twin social equity with economic development and, therefore, reducing social exclusion, perceived or real.
As a country we must ensure that the benefits of economic progress are felt across all strata of society. Social equity should be our priority as much as economic growth is. In this regard, we may need to develop more appropriate policies on safeguarding and improving the social well-being of the Maltese.