Subsidies will only address short-term economic failures, Żgħażagħ Ħaddiema Nsara warned on Monday, calling for decent work conditions and fair wages instead.

In a statement, the group lamented a current system where the rich are getting richer and the poor are struggling to make ends meet.

"The mirage of trickle-down economics is now recognised to be the flooding-up of wealth among the rich. While some are given hefty salaries without merit, others are left to toil for meagre wages."

This is why food banks and soup kitchens were mushrooming in 21st-century Malta, ŻĦN said.

"The proverbial 'invisible hand' of the economy is no longer invisible nor morally or socially responsible. Its actions are instead orchestrated by a clique of self-interested individuals who run a system made to satisfy the greed of the rich leaving inequality and injustice in its wake.

"In the face of this insatiable, unruly greed and the exploitation of the most vulnerable the government is trying to address the situation by paternalistically providing subsidies – to both the rich and the poor."

But subsidies are only palliatives and can be a form of capitalist alienation, it warned.

"Subsidies yes, but wages first. While the ŻĦN recognises that subsidies in the short term address immediate economic failures and challenges, we insist on decent work conditions and a fair wage for all as a permanent solution to the ever-widening gap between rich and poor.

"We cannot accept a situation where a worker has to beg his master 'can I have some more' in order to make ends meet. Otherwise, for many, the minimum wage will become the maximum wage."

'Mandatory union membership for low-income workers'

Similarly, Żminijietna - Voice of the Left urged the government to tackle precarious employment and low wages. 

It said that those facing precarious conditions were mostly low-skilled workers, migrants and non-Europeans.

Acknowledging the government's attempt at keeping inflation low, it added that government should legislate in favour of mandatory union membership for low-income workers. 

The group also called for increased minimum wage, the regularisation of temporary agency work and ensuring that businesses caught exploiting workers have their trading licenses revoked. 

Żminijietna meanwhile called for studies on Artificial Intelligence and a discussion of its impact on workers and the economy.

Independent Arnold Cassola also had his say.

In a statement, he said May 1 should be a day to celebrate workers and prioritise their needs.

"Instead, we have 109,000 at risk of poverty, a 56-hour work week for nurses, precarious work for thousands, €800 minimum wage, €300 a month to rent a bunk bed, noise pollution and a perpetual building site around us, blocked in traffic for various hours a week.

"All this in an EU country in 2023. Is this the type of life our country is aiming for? Maltese citizens and residents deserve politicians who put citizens' quality of life at the centre of all activity."

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