Muscat gives five ‘reasons’ why Ministers do not deserve their pay rise

Addressing party activists in Luqa, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said that a pay rise is usually linked to productivity. Recalling last Wednesday’s Parliamentary sitting, Muscat said he was touched by “Gonzi’s speech on why his Ministers deserved their pay rise which for a second made me imagine I was listening to the leader of some sort of Ministers’ union.”

Muscat went on to say that he, however, did not agree that the current Ministers deserved a pay rise. He justified his opinion by calling in the work of five ministers, mainly the Gozo Minister, the Health Minister, the Education Minister, the Finance Minister and the Resources Minister.

He referred to Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono, Muscat said that now “Gozo has become a cemetery with no work available”. He said there is no work for the younger generations and if they are lucky enough to find a job, it is either seasonal or a temporary one.

“Many of them end up either working in Malta because they are forced to or they try to seek a job abroad,” Muscat said, adding how frustrating it is for some of them to commute each day between Malta and Gozo.

Muscat then turned to Health Minister Joe Cassar and recalled the bed situation at Mater Dei Hospital. “It is shameful that a person who has just undergone an operation has to either wait for a room in the hospital’s corridor or else be transferred to another hospital. Worse than this is government flaunting the fact that health services are free:  I remind government that this is exactly why citizens are paying National Insurance!” Muscat said.

Muscat then set his guns on Education Minister Dolores Cristina of the  bad-timing in the announcement of the benchmark tests: "Did the Ministry had to announce the new system right in the middle of a scholastic year?"

Muscat said this was frustrating not only to the students and their parents, but also for the teachers. “If the new system had been announced in August, in September teachers would have gone in prepared with their syllabus, fully aware of what was expected of their students and thus preparing them for their benchmark tests.”

“And what about Finance Minister Tonio Fenech? He has failed one target after the other,” Muscat said referring to the budget deficit. He said that even though government had practically removed all subsidies schemes and had privatised several companies, Malta’s deficit is still high and debt is still growing on.

“Adding up both government’s debt and the debts of government’s companies, Malta's total debts add up to €5,000 million,” Muscat said.

Muscat closed off his argument' on why the Ministers’ work could not justify their pay rise by referring to Resources and Rural Affairs Ministers George Pullicino. He said that he could not understand how Pullicino has not yet resigned.

Muscat was referring to the Constitutional Court’s decision which held that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s appeals board which determined the Marsaskala recycling plant application in 2005 was not impartial or independent. It therefore found that Pullicino, then Environment Minister, had breached the human rights of Marsascala residents because his ministry was responsible for the recycling plant application and the appointment of the board.

“Abroad, such incident would have immediately brought the resignation of the person responsible. However in Malta everything goes on normally as if nothing ever happened,” Muscat said.

Asked to comment about the Prime Minister’s U-turn on the minister’s pay rise, Muscat said it was insulting that, not withstanding his institutional position in Parliament, the Cabinet had gone behind everyone’s back and approved the pay rise. "And now, 30 months later, he wants the approval of the House Business Committee," Muscat said.

“It has now also transpired that the decision taken 30 months ago in secrecy amongst the circle of his close friends was taken not from the budget vote dedicated to the wages but from a different vote,” Muscat said.

The Opposition leader called Gonzi’s decision to have each minister refund €14,000 and postpone the salary rise for MPs “a simple compromise which in reality does not say anything.”

“Gonzi is still retaining the basic principle of giving his ministers two wages, but instead of giving them €600, he is giving them €500!” Muscat said.