Updated 1.50pm

The quality of life of workers must be improved in tandem with efforts to safeguard jobs, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech in a May 1 message to mark Workers’ Day. 

Paying tribute to workers, the PN leader said that the party’s vision for the country was one in which workers could benefit from politics that provide guaranteed and dignified work. 

“Workers are an important link and we must be proactive in this sector where we promoted diligence and where the diligent are rewarded with what they deserve,” Grech said. 

He added that the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on various workers across multiple industries that had not deterred people from carrying out their duty. Job security and adequate working conditions must be ensured, Grech noted.

“We must not only safeguard workers’ jobs but we must also ensure that your aspirations are being reached and that your quality of life is improving. Every worker deserves dignity at the workplace and an adequate balance between work and their private and family life,” he said. 

“It is fundamental that workers are trained in the skills that the country needs and are given the opportunity to progress in their careers through specialised training in order to become an essential part of the economy as well as society at large.”

“I want youths to have an ocean of opportunities ready for them after finishing their studies, as well as for those who decide not to continue with them to be able to integrate into working life without delay or unnecessary struggle.”

Grech added that the pandemic had shown the drawback and benefits of working from home and revealed the mental health challenges that workers face while on the job. The PN, he said, is committed to examining challenges faced by workers and strengthening their health and security on the job.

“We understand the importance of the relationship between employee and employer and believe wholeheartedly in strong industrial relations,” Grech said.

“This is an important balance for me and this is the politics I want to be put into practice. I want this to be the best country that you can work and grow in. This is the new page I want to turn for my country, in strengthening a better Malta where every worker can reach their aspirations.”

PN spokespersons pay tribute to workers, employers

In a separate statement, PN MPs David Agius and Jason Azzopardi paid tribute to workers and business owners and committed the party to doing everything it could to serve as the voice of employees and employers. 

The two MPs said that the PN understood the challenges the unemployed and those in precarious work faced, and vowed to work to defend their interests with the same vigour that the party had achieved EU membership for Malta 17 years ago.