Joseph Muscat is importing slavery, Adrian Delia says

Opposition leader Adrian Delia said on Sunday that Joseph Muscat is importing slavery to Malta.

Delia was talking about the influx of foreign workers when he said that the Nationalist Party was not against foreigners at all. "After all," he said, "the PN created an economic sector entirely for foreign workers, but these came for quality work in quality conditions," he said, adding that the government was employing foreign workers at a dismal pay and with abysmal working conditions.

"When you have an influx of foreign workers who do not enjoy the same rights as EU member state citizens, you get people working 178 hours a month, with a salary of €4.50 an hour. After deductions, these would earn approximately €400 a month," the PN leader said.

Delia was speaking at a political activity in Nadur in Gozo on Sunday.

He made reference to the government's recurring statement of how foreign workers were contributing to an increase in Maltese pensions and other social benefits.

"This is the arrogance of the government," Delia said, "telling people that they wouldn't have a roof over their head if it weren't for foreign workers, completely disregarding all the work the Maltese elderly did over the years and the taxes they paid in their lifetime.

"One in five elderly people are living in poverty. They are unable to pay their rent. I am saying this with responsibility, echoing what the new president George Vella said in his opening speech. Vella didn't mention a surplus but he spoke immediately about the need for a just economy and a fair distribution of wealth. His message was clear," Delia said, adding that the government's message of success was not reflective of the reality being faced by people on a day-to-day basis.

"If the foreigners decide to leave? What then? Will the government tell the people they cannot have a pension anymore? Joseph Muscat knew that he would keep his office for ten years and then leave a mess for others to clean up," Delia said. "If we cannot find a solution to social housing in a surplus, if we cannot find a solution to the increasing infrastructure during a surplus, what will we do during a deficit?"

Delia praised George Vella, saying that he had been a doctor constantly amongst the people and was familiar with their needs and their grievances and this is why his opening speech made reference to "a society where those in need had to depend on charity, where instead of taking what is ours by right, we have to beg for it."

Delia said that for the past few weeks he visited 1,960 small businesses and said that they told him that they weren't doing well, that their businesses were suffering. He said that when discussing this with the Prime Minister, Muscat shrugged it off and said that while 4,000 small businesses had gone bankrupt, thousands of others had sprouted up.

"Politics has to do with people. Even if just one person without a roof over her head, or unable to afford a home, we can say that the system has failed," Delia said.

The PN leader argued that in every possible sector, Joseph Muscat was constantly prioritising foreigners over Maltese people. "Even the foreign students at Barts Medical School will be shipped to Mater Dei since the Gozo General Hospital is still unfinished. These will put pressure on the consultants, the lecturers."

Abortion

"I'm very happy that the president chose to speak about abortion and showing his agreement," Delia said, adding that the Nationalist Party would be unshakeable in this regard.

He criticised the government for thinking that a child in the womb is nothing but eight cells. To the PN, Delia said, those eight cells were everything because the argument could be wielded in terms of socialist principle where the most vulnerable people had to be protected by their government, including the unborn.

"Even if we are the last nation in the world to adopt it, our position is clear: abortion will not be legalised in Malta," Delia said.