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Productivity is a complex reality but the government thinks a quick-fix solution will make the country more successful in the global economy
During the controversy over the reduction of four public holidays this year the Nationalist Government claimed that compared to European workers the Maltese had an “astronomical quantity of public holidays”.
Is this true? No.
Eighteen other European Union member states (Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden) will all have more public holidays than us this year.
In 2005, with 10 public holidays we will have less than Singapore (11), India (12), China (12), the United States (13) Malaysia (14), Japan (15) and South Korea (16).
Employees in most of the other EU states have more annual leave and public holidays than us. Government’s decision to make our employees lose the public holidays that fall on weekends is pushing us down towards the bottom of the heap in the EU, with only Britain, Ireland and Denmark below us.
Despite having the shortest holidays and the longest working hours in the EU, the United Kingdom has one of the lowest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per working population in Europe. Austria has the longest holiday time in Europe with 38 days and has an above average European GDP per working population. The same can be said of France and Luxembourg.
In 2002 France had the highest GDP per hour level (103), Germany had 101, the United States 100 and the UK with the shortest holidays and the longest working hours comes last at 79. Put in overall less time, they perform better than workers in other countries. The problem thus is not lack of productivity, but the amount of hours worked.
Productivity and competitiveness is a complex reality made up of hundreds of factors and the number of holidays is just one factor and cannot be seen as a quick-fix solution to making a country more successful in the global economy. Even the Nationalist Government knows this.
The National Competitiveness Working Committee which it set up, proposed in its report of June 2004 fifty five different measures to make our economy more competitive. “The reduction in idle time due to holidays” was only one of the measures. Nothing was practically done about most of the other far reaching measures to develop the right business environment that creates jobs and wealth in these islands.
Corruption, excessive taxation, Government’s inefficiency and red tape, making potential investors wait long months, are all very damaging and make us much less competitive. Compared to all the other EU countries we have the highest number of early school leaving teenagers and the lowest number of graduates in science and technology and so lack the knowledge workers we need to attract new investment.
Eat Well
“The eating habits of Maltese children are very poor,” says Mr Godfrey Xuereb, a Maltese nutritionist, who works for the World Health Organisation and is based in Jamaica. He tells me: “They consume a low intake of fruits and vegetables and they consume more calories then required. The fact that many of our children are not physically active compounds the problem and makes our children among the most obese in the world.”
Mr Xuereb pinpoints the high incidence of asthma as one of the consequences of this obesity: “Globally we are seeing an increase in the rates of diabetes which was previously only diagnosed after the age of 30. However more and more young adults and even teenagers are being diagnosed with this condition. These cases are all linked to obesity in young age. The age at which cardiovascular diseases are being seen is also getting younger and younger, especially in males. The fact that these young children have already established bad eating habits makes it even more difficult for them to change these bad habits later on in life.”
What can we do to changes these eating habits? Mr Xuereb says that students and parents need to be better informed about eating well. “But it is well known that behaviour change does not happen with knowledge acquisition only. Other factors must be put to play such as availability and affordability of fruits and vegetables, laws which make food nutrition labels compulsory and information campaigns so that people will know how to make use of them.”
Mr Godfrey Xuereb also thinks that there must be “collaboration with the fast-food industry, trade and local industry to promote more healthy foods. We must also encourage our local farming industry to produce fruits and vegetables at an affordable price.”
He thinks that schools must allow only health food to be sold on the premises and children must be encouraged to have a healthy meal plan – thus school time tables should be adapted to ensure that children have time for breakfast and lunch and a small mid-morning snack.
“We must know if children are coming to school without breakfast and if so institute breakfast programs in school. Also identify what children are eating after school and maybe organise school lunch programs so that at least 60 per cent of the energy intake (which should be what children take at school if breakfast is also provided) is made up of healthy nutrients. We must also encourage school vegetable gardens which would promote the children’s love of vegetables and encourage them to eat what they grow.”
I ask him to suggest a healthy diet: “Foods that are made from high fibre and are low in fat and salt are the best foods for a healthy diet. Using lots of fruits and vegetables, plenty of beans and lentils and balancing this with staples such as pasta, rice, potatoes and bread. We should try and minimise the use of added fat such as butter, margarine, fried foods etc and also try and reduce the large portions of animal foods that we consume. We should also eat more fish.”
Mr Godfrey Xuereb also believes that “children need to have ample time to relax and also play in a constructive and healthy fashion. The use of automated systems, greater emphasis on school grades and the pressure to pass exams has led to less and less time dedicated to the pleasure of eating and also time for sports and physical activity.”
His parting shot is a warning about the resurgence of poverty. “Good quality food is expensive and not widely available and affordable. High fat, low nutrient quality foods tend to be cheaper and more readily available and affordable by poorer society groups. I am sure that if studies had to be carried out in the poorer harbour areas we would find that this area has the highest incidence of obesity (both in children and adults) and that the health status of these children is the poorest in the country.”
evaristbartolo@hotmail.com
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