Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/747633
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 NOVEMBER 2016 10 "I believe that this NGO proposal for an increase in the minimum wage is reasonable and ought to be supported," Simon Busuttil tweeted, just two hours after Caritas and vari- ous anti-poverty and left-wing civil society organisations proposed a 10% increase in the minimum wage. By the power of his mobile-tapping thumb- nail, Busuttil is determined to assert his per- sonal authority in his party, breaking up with the party's minimum wage taboo but awk- wardly, failing to make this radical commit- ment in his own reply to the budget speech last week – when he went as far as propos- ing a new mechanism to establish "the level of income required" to ensure nobody lives in poverty and to top up the income of all those falling under this established level. Indeed, there was no increase in the mini- mum wage proposed in a pre-budget PN document presented to the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development on 28 September. And when recently quizzed over the Caritas report on whether he agrees with a revision in the minimum wage, he replied that "instead of simply increasing the mini- mum wage from X to Y, we believe that peo- ple on the minimum wage should be trained so that they will be able to find a higher-pay- ing job." Following civil society One can safely say that an increase in the minimum wage was never projected as part of an all-encompassing, reformist pro- gramme. But Busuttil preferred to follow civil society rather than take the initiative himself at an earlier stage. One has to recognise that Busuttil, who privately once described him- self as politically centre-left before joining the political fray, has been paving the ground by adopting a more left-wing tone since the Sep- tember 21 celebrations. On this issue, Busut- til is following his political instincts. His 'minimum wage' tweet was not pre- ceded by any grand, ideological discussion in the party. In a single social media chirrup, the party leader revoked his own party's past reservations on a minimum wage increase, which were based on the belief that this would trigger a domino effect for increases on other wages. In government, the most radical measure taken by the former Gonzi administration was giving free courses to minimum wage earners, for which only eight people applied. Moreover the party's present economic policy, An Economy for the People, authored by economy spokesperson Claudio Grech, which was approved last year, proposes an "entrenched" mechanism that links any wage increases with productivity increases. Indeed, the document starkly ruled out "zero sum pecuniary wage debacles" to instead favour "productivity enhancement". And the only concrete measure proposed by the PN to entrench redistribution of wealth consisted of a Private Public Partnership scheme to support low-income earners by seeking to increase their wages through pro- ductivity enhancement. The document even proposed "partnership with the President's trust" in schemes to support low-income earners, and linked to productivity enhance- ment. There was nothing in this document to suggest that an increase in the minimum wage was on the party's agenda. In this sense, the policy shift on the mini- mum wage could have been more elegant and less sudden but it shows a growing reali- zation on the part of Busuttil that parties are only successful if they take risks and are able to change entrenched positions. Moreover Busuttil is imposing his own way without even consulting the party and parlia- mentary group. For while on issues like civil unions and the morning-after pill, Busuttil was paralyzed by different positions in his group, on the minimum wage he imposed his line through a tweet which conditions any further debate in his party and parliamentary group. One may suspect that Busuttil has now earned himself a blank cheque to do what- ever he deems necessary in his bid to make his party electable. The cost of this strategy is that it perpetuates a presidential system where loyalties are not towards the party but to the party leader himself. Pre-empting Muscat's final budget? After having excluded an increase in the minimum wage for the past four years, opting for added social benefits to top up the income of low earners, Muscat has now hinted that he personally agrees with a revision of the minimum wage but would first seek consen- sus among the social partners. Ironically, the PN's final policy when in government was to usher in three years of tax cuts for high-income earners, rather than raise wages – a commitment upheld by La- bour after it was elected. Before 2013 it was Muscat who had pre-empted the PN, by sup- porting the tax cuts for high-income earn- ers before these were even announced in the budget. Now it is Busuttil's turn to pre-empt Mus- cat. This may suggest that while Muscat was News Analysis Busuttil's cunning plan: How to outflank Muscat from the left Raising the minimum wage Simon Busuttil's sudden endorsement of a civil society proposal to raise the minimum wage by 10% in three years represents a radical movement of the tectonic plates of Maltese politics. Is130 this the PN's definitive shift to the centre-left, or a strategic chess move to outflank Joseph Muscat? Simon Busuttil is determined to assert his personal authority in his party, breaking up with the party's minimum wage taboo but awkwardly, failing to make this radical commitment in his own reply to the budget speech last week – when he went as far as proposing a new mechanism to establish "the level of income required" to ensure nobody lives in poverty and to top up the income of all those falling under this established level JAMES DEBONO Busuttil pre-empted Muscat from taking ownership of the long due increase in the minimum wage by inserting the measure in a pre-electoral budget next year