Government should ensure best practices in public contracts – PL

Muscat was referring to reports of abusive working conditions within the Health Care Sector which made headlines earlier last week during a meeting with the new Officers’ Group of the Malta Employers’ Association on Monday.

Muscat welcomed the MEA’s recent statements on how employers should follow the laws and regulations with regards to employment and providing correct and adequate working conditions, describing it as “groundbreaking.”

He said this is especially called for given how employers are coming under ever-greater pressures due to government-induced costs, which might be forcing them to cut corners and employ workers on less than ideal conditions.

“Government should ensure and incentivise best practices in employment when dealing with contractors during public procurement,” Muscat said.

Referring to alleged abuses within the healthcare worker sector, Muscat welcomed the inquiry into the allegations of abusive work practices. “I hope it will lead to results and a change in mentality on how public procurement is handled,” he said.

He expressed hope that the abusive work practices were not simply the by- product of an emphasis on lower costs. “This would mean that we are engaging in a race to the bottom where nobody wins,” he said.

He also referred to the “worrying” Pakistani nurse scandal which made headlines last week, reiterating his call for an inquiry into how the nurses could have been drawn into such an abusive scam.

He said government was obliged to ensure and incentivise best practices in employment and public procurement contracts that it hands out.

Muscat welcomed the new appointments in the MEA's officers' committee, auguring that they continue in their “analytical direction”. He said one of the Labour Party’s priorities was “decidedly private industry” and said the party views the role of a party in government as "a facilitator to that growth.”

“We want to let private industry to grow on its own steam without obstructions or bureaucracy,” Muscat said, pointing out that the latter was an obstacle already frustrating businesses and employers.

He said the PL would address the issue of excessive bureaucracy and government-induced costs: “It is an absolute priority.”

He also spoke the PL’s priority in enhancing the job market, but that any improvement should not be merely in “quantity, but especially in quality.”

He referred to the government’s efforts to encourage more women to join the job market and reduce Malta’s standing as lowest EU performer in this regard. “However, we need to see why are more women joining the job market – is it simply to work and be economically active, or is it to keep up with economic demands and cannot afford to fall back?”

Speaking on behalf of the MEA, association president Joshua Zammit said that employers understand the need for governmental bureaucracy and a certain extent of government-induced costs.

He however said that excess in those regards “is not good for anyone.” He also called for a more level playing field “where everyone can compete with everyone else on an equal footing.”

The MEA’s new officers’ group was elected on 5 April, and is composed of Joshua Zammit  (president), Pierre Fava (Vice President), Joseph Delia (Deputy President), Jackie Attard Montalto (Deputy President), Stephen L. Muscat (Hon. Treasurer), and Anton Buttigieg (Hon. Secretary).