“A new Labour Government will be increasing the stipends pro-rata according to the cost of living increase.”

The above was announced by the Leader of the Labour Party, Joseph Muscat, during an event as part of the Forum Zghazagh Laburisti, “I’m in” campaign at the Valletta Waterfront.

Joseph Muscat said that last October the FZL had proposed that the stipends should be strengthened by being adjusted according to the cost of living increase. “The Labour Party took this proposal on board and thus it will be one of the measures to be taken by the new Government to enhance the stipends.”

Joseph Muscat mentioned another proposal; a new Government, if given the trust, will be reducing the voting age for the Local Council Elections, from the current eighteen to sixteen years of age. This will be the first step, then, hopefully, a consensus will be reached to adopt this measure on a national scale. Joseph Muscat stated that there are many countries who took this brave step, and we shouldn’t wait to be the last country to adopt this measure.

The Labour leader said that we should aim at having more students who continue with their studies after sixteen years. It was unacceptable in this day and age that 4 out of 10 youths do not continue with their studies. “We believe in pluralism in the tertiary sector,” stated Muscat, “where the University of Malta should not be the only choice for students.” He also mentioned the research sector, and the fact that a new Government will be encouraging the private sector to invest more in this field.”

Joseph Muscat said that the Labour Party is issuing “concrete proposals on a daily basis. All these proposals are costed and form part of a clear roadmap.”

Responsible politics, not an auction

The PL Leader referred to the proposals announced to combat illiteracy, amongst which the strengthening of libraries and more empowerment for teachers and Heads of Schools.

He also mentioned the proposal One Tablet per Child, whereby every child attending the 4th year primary school, will be given a tablet as a tool for literacy. By time, a new Government will be encouraging publishing houses to develop books in electronic format. This proposal will cost a maximum of 1.5 million Euros per year.

Joseph Muscat said that “after about an hour after the PL announced this proposal, PN said that they will be giving a tablet to everyone. However, till now he has not announced a clear plan and said that everything will be revealed in the coming days. On the other hand, each proposal made by the PL is costed and aimed at increasing the economic growth and job creation.

“We are not in an auction, who gives out the most. We are promoting politics of responsibility which means that we have a clear plan.” He mentioned that two and a half years ago, on his visit to Australia, Dr Muscat had spoken about this project of the Labour Government in Australia. The project entailed a laptop for every child. “However, time moves fast and we have to aim to be the first country to offer a tablet for every boy and girl.”

Guarantee of Learning, Training and Work

Asked about the guarantee of learning, training and work, Joseph Muscat said that even the EU was in favour of this guarantee. “PN spent a whole year mocking the Labour Party about this Guarantee and now the EU Parliament voted in favour of this guarantee. He claimed that in the near future, the Maltese Government will be asked to formally approve this Guarantee. If this guarantee is not yet approved, a new Government will vote in its favour wholeheartedly.”

About the employment sector, Joseph Muscat said that a new Government will be doing its utmost to create quality jobs in different sectors. He mentioned a number of sectors that will be recruiting more employees in the future including Healthcare, Tourism, IT and financial services. He also referred to other sectors which regressed during the last years including science and engineering.

The PL Leader also spoke about investing in foreign languages including French and future languages like Spanish and Chinese.

When asked about the 7,000 jobs which were promised at Smart City, Joseph Muscat made reference to the White Rocks project. He stated that “now PN was saying that discussions on the project had not yet materialised. This came a few years following a much publicised presentation about the development that would be made irrefera ghal progett iehor, dak tal-White Rocks.”

Joseph Muscat emphasised the urgency of a radically different style of politics “which will be adopted by a new Government away from the style of PN who promises but does not deliver.”

“This is not about politicians, this is about the people. If we keep on working together, we can change the way of making politics, forever. A system where it is not important if a person is a Labour or a Nationalist supporter, but value is given to the qualities and skills of the individual. Meritocracy,” concluded the Labour Leader.

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