The problem in Malta is that we are creating many jobs that not all Maltese individuals have the necessary skills to apply for, Labour Party MP Alex Muscat said.
He was speaking on INDEPTH, The Malta Independent’s online current affairs programme, which has resumed after the summer break. Deputy Editor-in-Chief Neil Camilleri hosted Muscat and PN spokesperson Justin Schembri for a debate on the Budget 2020.
Opening the discussion on foreign workers, Schembri said that nobody is speaking against the foreigners in the country, but that there should be a plan and a selection process that produces individuals who help Malta grow its economy, and not just provide a service.
“This Government is only bringing in people that lower the level of wages in Malta, and, apart from that, we are having an astronomical increase in the population. The government is yet to give an answer on what will happen in the years to come.”
Schembri maintained that a choice must be made between having a flourishing economy that is over-shadowed with the most overpopulated, dirty, traffic-ridden country with a surplus that doesn’t reach the people, or a country where our children may have a good life and appreciate the country they grow up in.
Muscat retorted by saying that this is the type of argument that worries him. He criticised Schembri for saying that we must be selective, adding that politicians must be careful with the kind of rhetoric they use. He pointed towards the increase in hate speech and queried whether the PN is trying to ride on the populist trend.
He said it was not true that foreign workers were taking the jobs that the Maltese do not want, insisting that only a small percentage take up such positions. “The problem in Malta is that we are creating many jobs that not all Maltese have the necessary skills to work in,” Muscat said.
