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9 Opinion maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 22 JANUARY 2014 today Stefano Mallia Labour isn't working (yet?) I t is said that former Labour leader Dom Mintoff once quipped that he wished that he was capable of creating jobs in the same manner as his ability to get money for his country. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat seems, unfortunately for us, to be following this infamous agenda. Over the past few days, he has surprisingly remarked that the best thing about the citizenship sale deal was that "Malta was not expected to give anything in return". Truth be told though, neither will the purchasers of Maltese passports be giving Malta much in return. This is where the jobs situation comes in. This is reason why the PN has maintained that the only way the passport scheme could ever be considered to be an investor scheme was to link it with jobcreating tangible investment. For those genuinely and actively seeking employment, no subsidy, no tax cut, no financial incentive will make up for the satisfaction of providing for oneself and his or her family. Admittedly, job creation in Malta is no easy task. We are not exactly spoilt for choice when it comes to natural resources. So, yes, our human resource is fundamental to the continued development of our economy. Undeniably, Malta has witnessed an economic miracle over the past 25 years. We have transformed the economy from one purely dependent on the British military base and subsequently low-skilled, no value-added jobs in the manufacturing industry to a modern and vibrant economy based on upcoming industries and services involving ICT, pharmaceuticals, aviation, financial services, online gaming and the creative economy. Subsequently we have created quality and well-paid jobs not only for young graduates but also for those who wished to develop their career in other sectors – just think about the former Shipyard employees who today practice their highly prized skills at one of the aviation companies. This 'miracle' continued over what probably were the worst five years in international economic history. This is why it is disappointing to see unemployment creeping up month after month, now that the European economy is finally on the rebound. We can certainly look around us and say that things are not that bad yet. There is of course no reason for panic. What really worries me, however, is government's lack of prioritisation of this issue. Week after week, the NSO publishes damning updates, whether in the form of statistics on the Registered Unemployed, the Labour Force Survey or the Gainfully Occupied Population. On each occasion, instead of acknowledging the situation, Government seeks to see whatever positive can be taken from such data – which obviously there also is – and brushes everything else under the carpet. This is worrying to the 7,639 individuals looking for a job. It is worrying to the parents who see their children looking for a job. If our Finance Minister really believes the economy is doing perfectly well in terms of job creation, then he should be saying that to the 7,639 job-seekers out there It is worrying to the SMEs that depend on demand from the local market, which demand seems to weakening as consumers lose confidence. Labour is simply happy that the number of employed people is on the increase. God forbid the numbers are not increasing, because if that were the case it would be symptomatic of a complete economic collapse. Thankfully we are still seeing jobs being created in areas such as financial services, IT, tourism services and other professional and administrative sectors of our economy. This is all good. Unfortunately though, the process of job creation is simply not keeping up with the demand – and that is how unemployment creeps up. The first 10 months of a Labour Government – despite the plethora of ministries that should be supporting job creation – we have seen no new tangible initiative that is intended to attract investment and create jobs in our economy. The national agenda has been dominated by the unfortunate 'passports for sale' scheme. What is also worrying is that over the past few months we have seen a considerable increase of jobs within the public sector – by end August 2013, these had already risen by over 1,000 over the corresponding month in 2012. Although, again, government was quick to try to attribute these increases to its predecessors, financial data published this week shows an increase in public salaries of €22m in just four months – clearly a result of increasing numbers on the payroll. All the arguments made above point to one direction – that government is struggling when it comes to job creation. The strength of our nation, of our society, depends on stability in the employment market. My appeal to our government is to make job creation a priority: this is not a game. People are not numbers. If, as recently reported, our Finance Minister really believes the economy is doing perfectly well in terms of job creation – then he should be saying that to the 7,639 job-seekers out there. He should also be speaking to the various shop owners who continue to register decreased sales. Stefano Mallia is a Nationalist candidate in the forthcoming European Parliamentary elections

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