Bureaucracy 'stifling' industry and jobs

General Workers' Union general secretary Tony Zarb and Malta Employers' Association president Arthur Muscat yesterday agreed that excessive bureaucracy was stifling industry and hindering employment growth in Malta.

A delegation of the association held talks with GWU representatives at the Workers' Memorial Building, in Valletta and discussed competitiveness and employment.

Welcoming the delegation, Mr Zarb said the union and the employers' association had agreed on many fronts in the past and the union was keen to improve the good relations established along the years.

"From what came up in the discussions that the various sectors of the union have had with different employers, excessive bureaucracy seems to be the most problematic issue," he said.

Among other points, the GWU had said it would contact prospective investors before these start operating in Malta and would hold talks with ambassadors in Malta to analyse how their countries could help the island become more competitive and how they could help it attract investors from their respective countries.

"We are pleased to announce that we had positive talks with the American ambassador recently," Mr Zarb said.

According to the union, the tourist industry should be helped through training of employees, innovation and research while effective consultation between the Malta Enterprise, the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC), the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) and the social partners was necessary to prepare the Maltese workforce for new job opportunities.

Another GWU proposal was that Malta should make better use of Maltese embassies to attract investment.

The MEA president said employers shared the concerns of the union on the need to create more jobs and to help Malta come out of these "difficult" times.

"It is a good idea for employers' representatives and unions to hold talks on pressing problems such as employment and competitiveness. However, it is important that these are translated into action," Mr Muscat said.

Mr Muscat said excessive labour costs were impinging on competitiveness, though the issue was linked to other areas such as the efficiency of workers and their level of expertise.

"Malta obviously cannot build a competitive edge on the basis of cheap labour because the standard of living has risen and rightly so," he said.

Mr Muscat said the European Union directives that Malta was adopting were there to improve the lives of the Maltese but in implementing the rules and obeying them "we should not be holier than the Pope".

He said employers, unions and the government should adopt EU directives in a flexible manner, as opposed to a rigid manner that makes the country less competitive.