As we enter a new year, it is natural to ask whether this one will be better than the last. Perhaps, now, we have become accustomed to also question how our life will continue to be affected by COVID-19 and its variants.
For the past 22 months, this government has deployed financial aid and assistance in the form of schemes, incentives, cash grants and tax credits in a bid to deflect the shockwaves brought about by the pandemic. The success of this support is reflected in the 105,000 jobs that we worked hard to safeguard; in the low unemployment rate; in the launch of new start-ups; in business expansions.
We are operating in a world economy that is still struggling to come to terms with the pandemic. As economies continue to emerge from the pandemic, the sudden increase in demand for energy and transport has disrupted supply chains to factories and shops on a global scale. We are not living in a vacuum or a bubble.
As one takes stock of the international situation, it is abundantly clear that the support offered by this government in every step of the way is bearing fruit.
Despite the uncertainty from the international energy crisis and transport markets, electricity and fuel prices remained stable and Malta has the lowest rate of unemployment in history. In comparison with 2019, today, we have 450 fewer individuals looking for a job. Additionally, during the pandemic, Malta was the only eurozone country to register an increase in the working force.
The government will remain shoulder to shoulder with businesses and workers- Miriam Dalli
Our policy of protecting livelihoods and nurturing employment, even in the face of unprecedented adversities, led to a situation in which we have an employment rate of 77 per cent. An increase of 0.5 per cent, when compared to 2019, against a backdrop of a one per cent drop at European level.
This is the result of a string of measures: we have, so far, invested €653 million in wage supplement and an additional €30 million to support businesses in their electricity and rent bills, quarantine leave and remote working. We did not transfer the burden of increased energy prices onto the consumers. Up until November, across the eurozone, electricity prices had increased by an average of 18 per cent.
As minister for enterprise, the conversation with stakeholders and social partners is continuous because we firmly believe that timely and adequate measures can be at their most successful if carried out hand-in-hand with the needs of our businesses. When the wage supplement was first launched, no one predicted that, 22 months later, it would still be issued.
In December 2020, circa four weeks after I joined Prime Minister Robert Abela’s cabinet, we announced that the wage supplement would be extended to artists as well and that it would be given retroactively.
In January 2021, we announced a new system by which the wage supplement would be distributed to all to safeguard the worst hit; in March, as we continued to review the situation and as our companies slowly regained strength from the pandemic, we decided to extend it in full for all until June and, for the worst hit, till the end of 2021.
The wage supplement scheme has now been extended by another month, with beneficiaries receiving the same amounts they got in December. Our commitment is to continue following the situation and provide the necessary assistance where needed.
The pandemic has given us the opportunity to push the private sector towards greener and more digitalised operations, a transformation which companies themselves want to implement because it is more beneficial for their operations.
We are assisting businesses in seeking professional consultancies on how to strengthen their operations and renew their business model to one that is competitive in today’s and tomorrow’s economy. Malta Enterprise has allocated €5 million in cash grants and tax credits, translating into some €70,000 for each company that invests in sustainable or digital projects through the smart and sustainable incentive scheme.
A similar scheme – the soft loan scheme – was also launched. It can reach €1,000,000 per company investing in similar projects.
As we have been doing over the past months, the government will remain shoulder to shoulder with businesses and workers as, together, we navigate through the pandemic, seeking solutions that ensure the protection of jobs and sustainable operations.