Abela: Bernard Grech criticism on wage supplement 'a lie'

Prime Minister Robert Abela has played down claims by the Nationalist Party that businesses who receive the wage supplement will be indebted to the government.

“What we gave to business and workers, is theirs and will remain theirs,” Abela told supporters at a Labour Party event held in Hamrun.

The PM was replying to claims by Opposition leader Bernard Grech that businesses who received the wage supplement during the pandemic, will have to pay it back.

In recent days, the PN has also slammed the PL for its wage supplement proposal which states that a Labour government would be forking out up to €800 for each worker who are employed with companies which have been affected by the pandemic.

The Labour Party's pledge on wage supplement

“Through a scheme similar to the wage supplement, we will secure an income of up to €800 per month for six months to each affected worker. In this case the affected company will want to present a recovery plan and the benefit must be repaid over five years from the time the company starts to make profits again,” proposal 174 of the PL manifesto reads.

But the PM has played down the PN’s criticism, insisting that what government gives to businesses, “will remain theirs”.

“As I said, expect lies from those who are desperate. The opposition leader invented lies on the wage supplement proposal,” he said.

The Labour leader told supporters the party will be implementing a plan which motivates social and economic recovery in a number of localities around Malta.

The plan would include targeted measures aimed at revitalising struggling localities around Malta. “Unlike the PN, with all these measures we don’t have terms and conditions. What you see on the manifesto will be carried out as proposed.”

He also spoke about a number of collective agreements with the country’s disciplinary corps, insisting government will be a “offering them a better and stronger collective agreement” in the coming legislature.

“We gave new collective agreements to prison warders, soldiers and civil protection officers. On the other hand, Beppe Fenech Adami, Jason Azzopardi and their clique wanted to put them in prison,” he said.

The PM reiterated previous calls for people to go out and vote. “To stay home or not collect your vote, is a vote for the past.”

Abela also spoke on the party’s pledge to create open spaces through a €700 million investment, which would be directly affecting the first district.

“We will completely transform the area stretching from Pieta to Valletta,” he said.