During an activity for AD supporters in Sliema on Wednesday evening – ‘Kafe mal-Hbieb’ – AD candidates and spokespersons spoke of issues which are affecting the country and about the party’s priorities.

Yvonne Ebejer Arqueros, one of the two AD candidates for MEP spoke about family friendly measures. She said that life-work balance is very important for those who have the family and the well-being of people at heart. “An AD MEP in the European Parliament will work to promote the harmonisation of EU family policies in areas such as child care, parental leave and work-life balance, to help bring about stronger families. We have been promised affordable childcare centres, but still the overwhelming majority of working parents have to access to this important service. We are the country with one of the shortest maternity leave period in the European Union – we at AD support the EU Commission proposal to harmonise the maternity leave all over the EU to guarantee a minimum of 18 weeks in all member states.”

Michael Briguglio, spokesperson for Social and Economic Development, commented on hardships being faced by many workers in the labour market.

“Official NSO statistics show part-time jobs have increased as much as full-time jobs, and in most cases such part-time work is the primary occupation of such workers. In the full-time sector, jobs in areas such as real estate are increasing, whilst jobs in manufacturing are on the decrease. In many instances new jobs are characterised by insecurity, exploitative practices and lack of conformity with legal requirements.”

Briguglio added that government is not always doing enough to stop the tide of casualised, contractual and low-paid jobs and is not itself setting an example. “For example, enforcement against employers denying basic rights to part-time workers is lacking. Besides, Government still issues tenders to employers with exploitative practices.”

Michael Briguglio also spoke about the current situation at the Freeport, whereby the court imposed a €1 million garnishee order on the GWU at the request of the Freeport.

“This constitutes an attack on trade-unionism. A few days ago, the Director of Industrial Relations did not allow a secret vote to take place to verify whether workers want GWU or the Dockers’ Union to be their recognised union. Now, the Freeport is taking disproportionate action which effectively can set a dangerous precedent against the democratic right of trade unions to take industrial action. Government should not be an accomplice to this attack on the GWU, since after all it is the duty of any trade union to defend the rights of its members and to demand transparency in the recognition process at Freeport. Secret votes are normal practice in democratic structures. The refusal of the Director of Industrial Relations to hold a secret vote is strange and requires justification to the public . Only a transparent democratic process is legitimate in such situations.”

Arnold Cassola, AD Chairperson and MEP candidate spoke about EU programmes which can help boost the economy in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. He said that 100 million Euros of funds are available for ‘intelligent energy’ projects. €65 million are available for actions in the area of energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy-efficient transport, while €32 million funds available for projects in the area of recycling, buildings, food & drink and green business. Arnold Cassola said, “This is an opportunity to create jobs and at the same time combat climate change and start the long road to achieving a measure of energy independence for Malta and Gozo. I urge government agencies to promote these EU programmes; we cannot afford to miss the boat.”

Arnold Cassola also expressed his dismay at Malta’s resistance to the Commission proposal to harmonise maternity leave throughout the EU. “The economy and money is very important but giving the impression that high social and environmental standards go against the economy is not true and contrary to the experience of countries from Germany to all of Scandinavia.”

Arnold Cassola insisted that the Green New Deal proposed by the Greens and backed by various studies and European trade unions and environmental and social NGOs will bring about the creation of 5 million jobs in a variety of sectors in the next 5 years. He said, “We need Greens in the European Parliament to keep parliament on track and avoid last minute watering down of legislation aimed at improving our quality of life. The Greens are in nobody’s pocket so are well placed to take the necessary decisions to move forward towards a sustainable economy. Europe cannot afford to be left behind while the USA, china and Japan surge forward towards the new economy. We are very worried that here in Malta we are already very late when it comes to investment in new technology.”

“Just one example: on the 14th of February 2008 during a meeting for nationalist women, just a few days before the general election, Lawrence Gonzi promised that by the year 2010, 20% of Malta’s energy will come from alternative sources. May I remind the Prime Minister that we are nearly in the middle of 2009 and that Malta still gets 0% of energy from alternative sources. Can the Prime Minister provide us with a road map as to how he plans to reach 20% within the next 18 months?”

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