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26.03.2020 7 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday. The newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EDITOR: PAUL COCKS CONTRIBUTING JOURNALIST: MASSIMO COSTA BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 T he measures announced on Tuesday night by Prime Minister Robert Abela come af- ter another set of measures last ursday harshly criticised by the media and social partners. e latest measures only address a category of businesses surrounding the hotel industry. ey will only address 60,000 workers, mostly in the hotel and catering industry and entertainment sector. Each company will be given €800 monthly for each worker and commit to pay €400 to en- sure that a worker receives €1,200. 104,000 other workers in the private sector are not included and these will only be awarded €160 a month. is will include all companies such as media companies, private schools and hundreds of oth- er companies that have contributed to making this a tiger economy. e government has argued that it must be prudent with its package, indicating that funds would otherwise dry up. An argument which falls flat on its face considering how other gov- ernments with no surplus have been dishing out money. Abela must also realise that the companies only offered €160 per employee per month will crum- ble and lay off employees. is is not an easy time and many are not appreciating how Malta will change after this. ere was a very poignant message from Tonio Fenech, a former finance minister under a Na- tionalist government, who suggested that the Maltese government should implement an "eco- nomic time-out" during the economic shutdown that has been forced by the coronavirus pandem- ic. As shops closed down and with a looming lock- down only around the corner, Fenech said the Maltese economy should be preserved now so that it can be switched on again when the lock- down is over. "is is akin to when time and score are frozen for a timeout or half time during a football match and the game is resumed with that same time and score when the referee whistles the resumption of the game," Fenech said, writing in e Times. "While the political temptation is to focus on Maltese/EU workers, there are serious repercus- sions if third country nationals are not included. If we want our economy to restart from where it left off, then third country nationals must also be part of the solution," Fenech added. He argued: "Interest is to be forgone, not mere- ly postponed as would happen in a moratorium. e loan repayment period is extended by as many months as the 'time out' period." is would also mean the Central Bank sus- pending the application of negative interest on the deposits held by banks. No loan call-ins would be allowed. "It is socially just that banks carry their share of the burden and are factually supportive during this crisis," Fenech wrote. He also pointed out that small businesses in Malta, comprising over 80% of the economy, were not making huge profits, and most of that profit was reinvested in the business. "It is wrong for the government to assume that these businesses have such deep pockets," Fenech said. "I agree that employers should up- hold a social responsibility and not lay off work- ers without seeking to offer some support, but this support can lead to bankruptcy or increased indebtedness, which may lead to a point of no re- turn with jobs lost anyway. Fenech was finance minister during the 2008 crisis, when his government had to stave off mass lay-offs from production lines in Malta. "What I found in the 2008 crisis is that if small businesses are given support to retain their workers, they would prefer not to declare redun- dancies, even if they must partially carry the bur- den. Maltese businesses have a sense of loyalty towards their employees and would not like to lose people they painstakingly trained and trust- ed." He also proposed a cut in salaries with wage subsidies: working parents earn 75% of their pay, in terms of Malta's €20,000 average wage, with the government paying 50% of that wage, while employers pay 25% tax-free. "Public sector em- ployees who are also not actively working should fall within this scheme, while public sector health workers in contact with COVID-19 cases should be receiving a special allowance of, say, 25 per cent over their pay for this period." Many of these suggestions should be imple- mented now and today. Our feeling at Business- Today is the government should heed this advice and take action. ere is no limit to by how much government should run into debt, not in this particular situ- ation. We are at war and in war one does not cut corners. Not addressing the future of the private sector

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