Civil Society Network calls for increased minimum wage and pension

The Civil Society Network has called on the government to include various measures “to address the quality of life and standard of living of low income earners and pensioners” in its upcoming Budget for 2017.

 The group has called for an increase in both minimum wage and minimum pension, as well as an updated and realistic indexation of the cost of living allowance (COLA) and of the pension.

“We are also calling for upward revisions in tax brackets for low income earners, measures to ensure that housing is affordable and measures to define and tackle precarious employment,” a statement by the network reads.

The statement also calls for measures to combat exploitation of foreign workers in the underground economy, as well as others to encourage use and access of renewable energy and to ensure sustainable and universally accessible pensions.  

“We believe that policies should be based on evidence and research, and that the government should ensure that consensus among social partners is not used as an excuse for procrastination,” the group pointed out, adding that although Malta’s overall economy was going from strength to strength, the extent of social inequalities was rife.