Employment, welfare 'under attack' - Sant

Opposition Leader Alfred Sant yesterday accused the government of lacking the commitment to create jobs.

Speaking in Mosta during a discussion meeting, he said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and his colleagues were still using the same propaganda of recent years, instead of addressing the concrete needs of Maltese families.

"Instead, the Nationalist government is attacking employment and the welfare state."

Faced as it was with the problem of unemployment, the country needed the Labour Party, he said.

A sign needed to be sent in June's elections for the European parliament about the need for a policy to safeguard jobs. The country needed a voice that made a difference, a Labour voice.

He said Labour would be marking Workers' Day because the country's workers needed to be the focus of the country's leadership.

"The Labour Party needs to show that the country's strength is built on the workers, by taking to the streets in a dignified manner."

The European Socialists, as they had shown in their recent congress, supported the MLP and its fight against unemployment. "European Socialists will not do the same as right-wing parties and allow the problems to grow," he said.

With regard to the upcoming local elections, the Opposition Leader said the Labour minority in Mosta could make a difference and curb the Nationalist councillors' lack of discipline.

Deputy leader Michael Falzon said there were 9,000 people registering for work and the working conditions of thousands of others were being whittled away. The MLP would continue to protect the workers' interests.

"The government chose the easiest way to address the situation: reduce the number of workers without shouldering any responsibility," he said.

Labour had always worked in the interest of Maltese and Gozitan workers, and it would ease his mind to have MLP candidates as Malta's voice in the European Parliament.

Leo Brincat, the party's foreign affairs and information technology spokesman, said some of the PN candidates for the June elections had occupied important positions in various organisations last year - the Malta-EU Information Centre, the Malta-EU Steering Action Committee and Moviment Iva. During the election and referendum campaigns they had declared themselves to be above politics, but now they were PN candidates, he said.

The meeting was also addressed by Labour MPs John Attard Montalto, who is also contesting the EP elections, Anglu Farrugia, Noel Farrugia and Chris Cardona.