In the last ten years, since 2013, our country has undergone major changes in important areas such as the economy and finance, social and civil rights, the environment and energy, and people’s health.
A change that has not only benefited the people, but has advanced and further modernised our country, making it almost unrecognisable from how it was ten years ago. All of this demonstrates the vision that the Labour government had, and still has, to ensure that our country is well equipped for the future.
The General Secretary of the General Workers Union, Josef Bugeja, said in a commentary on this website that the last ten years have seen great changes in all areas of life in our country, such as the economy and finance, social services, labour and employment, environment and energy, health, civil liberties and many others.
Economic development has progressed so far that today we not only have full employment, but many workplaces are crying because they cannot find enough workers.
During these years, a large number of social benefits have also been introduced to benefit the entire population. These benefits were not just introduced once, but are improved year after year, so that today a person who cannot work because of a disability receives financial support equal to the minimum wage. In addition, there are the annual increases in pensions, scholarships, child allowances and subsidies for those who want to purchase residential property.
We also cannot mention the important reforms that have been made in various areas such as civil rights, IVF law, divorce and gay rights, good governance, rule of law, and transparency. In addition, there are other reforms, such as the abolition of the prime minister’s powers in the selection of judges, the police chief and the election of the president of the state. All of these reforms have completely transformed Maltese society.
The list of measures taken in the last decade in the area of labour and employment is long. Laws have been introduced to make it easier for women to enter the workforce. Laws for platform workers were included even before the directive was introduced, as was the blow to precarious work in service contracts. Thank you to another reform, ‘zero-hour contracts” are now limited only to students and to work related to their studies. Also worth mentioning is the right of workers to take special leave when they are undergoing medical treatment. Our country has built on all these reforms and benefits over the last decade. This has been possible because our country’s economy has grown and strengthened in a way that makes everyone feel good.
