Developers support increase in minimum wage

Agreeing with the recently launched Campaign for a Decent Minimum Wage, the Malta Developers Association (MDA) said it supported the request made by a coalition of NGOs for an increase in the minimum wage.

In a statement, the MDA said that it also agreed that the time has come for a revision of the mechanism by which the cost of living allowance is worked out so as to reflect current economic circumstances.

Last Saturday, 16 NGOs launched the Campaign for a Decent Minimum Wage, arguing that the minimum wage should increase by 3.5% for three consecutive years – to between €11,000 and €12,000 annually – in addition to the cost of living adjustment.

The NGO involved included Auditus Foundation, Alleanza Kontra l-Faqar, Caritas, Forum Bormliz, Integra Foundation, Koperattiva Kummerc Gust, Malta Humanist Association, Malta Microfinance, Mid-Dlam Ghad-Dawl, Millennium Chapel, Moviment Graffiti, Paulo Freire Institute, Peace Lab, The Critical Institute, Third World Group and Zminijietna - Voice of the Left.

The organisations had said that raising the minimum wage was an act of social justice which would lead to a fairer distribution of wealth.

The MDA said that it believed it was the right moment for those who have fallen behind financially to be given a rise in their income, “now that the country has a strong economic performance.”

“This does not mean that we should abandon the direction that wages should be tied to productivity. In actual fact, persons employed in the private sector are already being paid good wages because of a lack of trained workers, and therefore the small number who have fallen behind should have a decent minimum wage,” the MDA argued.

On this note, the MDA appealed to government to provide more training to youths who abandon their academic studies, and who leave school at an early age. “This would enable them to have more opportunities for jobs with good wages,” it said.

“A worker who is happier and well paid would be motivated to produce more and that this helps our economy to keep on expanding,” the MDA added.

The minimum wage is currently set at €4.20 per hour, from which national insurance is then deducted.