Opposition leader Bernard Grech on Thursday pledged to eliminate taxes on the first €10,000 earned from part-time or overtime work.
Addressing the crowd at a May Day family festival in Ta’Qali, Grech announced this measure as a means to improve quality of life for workers, while stressing the importance of striking a quality work/life balance.
He also revealed that, if elected, a Nationalist government would increase parental, maternity and paternity leave to a full year so that parents can enjoy more time with their children.
In a speech to commemorate both Workers’ Day and the 21st anniversary of Malta’s accession to the European Union, Grech paid tribute to all workers, insisting that work conditions should be improved.
He called out the Labour government for not keeping their promise of introducing “equal pay for equal work”, a promise that has been repeated“for the past three elections” but so far not implemented.
He reiterated that workers should have fair and equal pay if they are doing the same work, arguing there cannot be “first-class and second-class workers”.
The PN Leader also emphasised the need to ensure that there is a balance between personal life and work, the importance of a dignified wage and the need to take care of the health of workers, not only the physical, but also the mental.
“We proudly offer a strong package to address the scourge of cost of living at source,” Grech said.
He acknowledged that the problem of cost of living is “so big” that people cannot make do with living on just one salary but need to work extra hours or more than one job. Statistics published this week showed that over 92,000 people are living in poverty or at risk of poverty, marking a year on year increase.
Opposition leader Bernard Grech meets some young supporters at the PN family festival in Ta’Qali on Thursday. Photo: PNThe elimination of tax on the first €10,000 earned through part-time or overtime work is one of a number of measures that the Nationalist Party has already proposed to seriously address the challenges of workers. Among these are that the cost of living increase (COLA) is not taxed, that tax credits are given to small and medium-sized businesses to absorb wage increases, and that a fund be created for importers and exporters to meet the impact on prices.
The PN is also calling for a change in the economic model from one that is relying on the importation of foreign workers to one based on innovative sectors that offer quality jobs and better wages.
Grech also highlighted the importance of the environment which, he claimed, has been ruined by the present government, so much so that the ERA has issued half of its fines to the government itself.
The PN leader recalled how 21 years ago the party had led Malta into the EU “with vision and courage”, adding that today “we must relive that vision to gve the best to our workers and their families because they deserve the best”.
During the event, the PN also paid tribute to the memory of Francis Zammit Dimech.
