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2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 JANUARY 2021 Addressing the reality of tomorrow's workplace Editorial ON Wednesday, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana unveiled a document that sets out 12 challenges that a new employment policy will have to address: and it is no surprise that three of these are directly linked to foreign labour. For the past seven years, the importation of foreign workers has in fact been a key component of the gov- ernment's economic strategy. Now, however, Minister Caruana says that the sheer number of foreign workers - and the demands they place on the country's infra- structure, education, healthcare and housing – is an issue that requires attention. But at the same time, he acknowledged that certain specific sectors, primarily construction and tourism, have become dependent on cheap foreign labour. This is, in fact, a major downside to the government's economic strategy: the downward pressure exerted by foreign workers on salaries across the board. The reality in Malta is that a large foreign labour mar- ket has been created by the work demands of industry and a diversified service economy. With over 67,000 foreign workers in Malta, various industries have come to depend on cheaper foreign labour in certain indus- tries, or highly-skilled foreign management leaders whose value has outstripped that of Maltese graduates. This has had ripple effects throughout the economy. On one end, salaries have been kept too low for Mal- tese workers to take up certain types of work, allow- ing industries to keep labour costs low; on the other end, certain types of industries, staffed by highly-paid foreign workers, have out-priced Maltese employers seeking skilled labour. Indeed, Caruana said salaries had increased over the past years; but there were realities that saw some leap- ing forward much more than others. One key factor was the lack of skills in the Maltese workforce, which lagged behind the European average. As the mastermind in 2014 of government's employ- ment policy that sought rapid economic expansion through targeted fiscal and social measures – includ- ing the introduction of free childcare, the tapering of social benefits and the importation of foreign labour - Caruana understands that foreign workers have pow- ered Malta's accelerated economic growth between 2013 and 2019. Indeed, they also financed a large part of Malta's pension pot. Now, as finance minister, Caruana wants the country to adopt a new employment policy in time for Octo- ber's budget. But foreign workers are not the only challenge. Oth- er situations the country has to address include the strengthening of measures to sustain the growth of female participation in the workforce; the lack of sal- ary increases in specific employment areas; and the demands of certain sectors for high-skilled workers. Another will be ensuring that more disabled people join the workforce. Caruana himself is even asking whether the damp- ened economy will need to introduce quotas for per- mits for foreign workers; or whether permits for for- eigners should only be issued in certain sectors, or whether permits should be granted only to foreign- ers if employed with certain wages, or alternatively, whether these should be issued only to companies that employ a minimum number of Maltese and European workers. All theoretical so far; but the new finance minister has certainly opened a window onto his way of think- ing. Certainly, there is a huge need to calibrate the labour market for Maltese employers: who seek better skilled Maltese workers, but at salaries they can sustain. There is no question that in the next years, more employers will require workers to have balanced expectations on salaries, if they are to withstand the effects of the pan- demic on the economy. At the same event in which Caruana laid out his vi- sion, Bank Of Valletta executive Tania Camilleri this week gave an exceptional snapshot of how female em- ployment has been bolstered: through tax credits for returning mothers, free nationwide childcare, school breakfast clubs and after-school services. Moreover, the coming years will usher in radical changes in the world of work. Rapid changes in tech- nology will displace manual labour jobs, and even mid- dle-income service jobs; workplaces will be radically downsized by the increase in remote work; platform work, which as revealed recently by MaltaToday, will come under pressure for regularisation and unioni- sation; more low-skilled Maltese workers risk losing jobs to automation; the demand for better wages will increase, as will the demand for up-skilling of Maltese workers. But without the private sector adopting flexibility for parents – including remote working and reduced hours – the new world of work cannot attract more people into gainful employment. Employers must learn to value quality of life for employees, and harness all that modern technology has to offer, if they are to bring out the best from their work-force. 31 January 2011 Honoraria paid as 'allowances' directly from ministry budgets THE Archbishop's pro-vicar Anton Gouder has restated a stand by the Church that Catho- lics voting for divorce in a referendum "might not be committing a sin" if their decision had been well-reasoned. Gouder complained that comments on di- vorce he made on radio, allegedly stating that voting for divorce would be a sin, had been "manipulated" by the media. But he added that a common statement by various clerics was re- quired in order to make the Church's teaching clear on voting for the introduction of divorce. Gouder said on Radju Malta's Ghandi Xi Nghid that MPs and citizens voting in favour of divorce in a referendum "may not be commit- ting a sin" if their decision had been informed and conscientious, even though they would have still come to a wrong conclusion. "Everyone must think according to their conscience, and be well-informed that way. Christians' conscience should be guided by Christ. To go against this guidance would re- quire certain self-examination. You could come to a 'wrong conclusion' but not deliberately so. You might not be committing a sin if you come to this 'wrong conclusion'." Asked by presenter Andrew Azzopardi whether this argument sounded "perilous", Gouder replied that Christians were du- ty-bound to think "in terms of the common good and not according to their individual needs or the personal experiences of people close to them…" – referring to family members who had experienced marital separations. "Every Christian is duty-bound to be well informed of the Church's teaching on the common good. And non-Christians should be informed of the common good. If they are not well informed, they would be committing a sin [in voting for divorce]. "If they are informed well, and still comes to a wrong conclusion, he might not be doing some- thing wrong." A suggestion by Judicial Vicar Mgr Arthur Said Pullicino to judges and lawyers to be 'con- scientious objectors' and "desist" from collab- orating on divorce proceedings, had angered parts of the legal community. ... Quote of the Week "I cannot expect industry to increase wages, their costs, as if they were flush with cash, especially these days." Finance Minister Clyde Caruana unveiling his jobs policy MaltaToday 10 years ago