Muscat announces minimum wage increase agreement

An agreement has been reached on raising the national minimum wage, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in a tweet this afternoon.   

Details are expected to be announced in the coming hours.  

 In a tweet, Muscat said “Government and social partners have reached National Agreement on increasing Minimum Wage. So proud of this accomplishment. Details soon.”

In a statement Kampanja Paga Minima Diċenti (KPMD) welcomed the agreement that for the first time in about 40 years will raise the minimum wage.

“For this raise to be sensible and genuine, KPMD reiterates the judicious call for an increase of 11% of the minimum wage spread over three years. The current booming state of the economy can surely sustain such a conservative increase,” the campaign said.

PN leader Simon Busuttil also welcomed the announcement and said a new PN government would uphold the agreement.

"This agreement signals the maturity of unions and employers alike. Workers on a minimum wage deserve an increase," he said.

Organisations and individuals from 16 NGOs involved in the campaign will be visiting several localities and workplaces around Malta to explain and discuss their proposal for a raise in the minimum wage – an 11% increase spread over three years, through a 3.5% increase per year. Through this proposal, people who are presently on the minimum wage will be receiving, in three years’ time, an additional €80 monthly over and above COLA increases.

Malta is one of only four EU countries where the value of the minimum wage in the context of price changes has decreased over the past seven years.

According to Eurofund calculations, Malta is one of only four EU countries where the value of the minimum wage taken in the context of changing price levels, has decreased over the past seven years. Eurostat figures released in February 2017 also show Malta is one of seven countries with a minimum wage that is less than 50% of the country’s median income.