10 years ago - The Times

Monday, August 18, 2008

Muscat proposes to lower voting age to 16

Labour Party leader Joseph Muscat is proposing to grant voting rights to 16-year-olds, using local council elections as a testing ground.

In his weekly opinion piece published in The Times today, Dr Muscat says that lowering the voting age to 16 from 18 for local elections would be a way of involving young people in local government.

This was just one of the proposals discussed at party level on local council reform which is currently the subject of public consultation.

He argued this would be an ideal way to involve 16-year-olds in politics, which is becoming increasingly detached from the people, and suggests that it might also be a good idea to lower the age for candidates.

Having younger voters would help curb polarisation and partisan politics on a local level, he says.

Asked to clarify a point, he said the proposal should be tested in local elections first and then a decision taken on whether to extend it to general elections.

Labour, he added, will be leading by example by involving younger people within the party.

25 years ago - The Times

Wednesday, August 18, 1993

GWU’s stand on cost-of-living wage rises

General Worker’s Union general secretary Anġlu Fenech yesterday warned of industrial unrest if automatic wage rises to make up for cost-of-living wage rises were to stop.

With or without an incomes policy agreement, the GWU will never give up on this right, Mr Fenech said.

He was replying to a joint statement issued last week by employer associations calling for a stop to these automatic increases.

Workers and pensioners, Mr Fenech told delegates at the biennial general conference of the Shipyards (Metal) Section in the evening, received the right to automatic cost-of-living increases in wages and pensions in 1974.

The GWU had resisted this and even called industrial action which led to talks between unions, the government and employers leading to the incomes policy agreement.

Addressing delegates before they were about to discuss a motion calling on the union to withdraw from the incomes policy until “the union’s national congress so decides”, Mr Fenech said the fact that the government had given in to pressure was one of the main reasons for the agreement.

Half a century ago - Sunday Times of Malta

Sunday, August 18, 1968

Altar for St Julian’s church held up by Customs authorities

An altar due to be installed at St Julian’s parish church earlier this month, is still held at Mifsud Verandahs by the Customs authorities.

It is reported that no import licence has as yet been issued by the Trade and Industry Department. The altar, manufactured in Italy, reached Malta over a month ago.

The altar was designed by E. V. Cremona.

One good deed deserves another

C. Grech, director of Square Deal, recently lost a wallet containing £200 and other personal documents. He had lost all hope of retrieving it when, on Friday, a youth passing through South Street in Valletta found the wallet and took it to Valletta police station.

On being informed by the police, Mr Grech asked to see the man who found his wallet. Mr Grech gave him £10 and promised that he will employ him at the firm’s dry cleaning works in Marsa.

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