Persons of trust working condi public for sake of transparency

During the Malta Business Weekly’s most recent business breakfast we heard that one of the biggest challenges in the work sector was a rising average age in workers. This means that young workers are all the more important to you as employers. Are youngsters being properly prepared to

cause the gaining of qualifications needs to be actually worthwhile for students; they need to see a return on their investment.

For example; you could have two 28-year-olds in front of you. One started working at 17 and has a good pay working at a lowskilled job in the manufacturing industry. The other has studied for a number of years and graduated and now earns less than the other person in the low-skilled job. These are realities, together with other realities that one must see.

You mentioned young people being valuable to employers, and you are absolutely right. One of the things we do not want is our young people going to work in EU countries and replaced with foreigners. Basically, a brain drain compensated by bringing in workers from across the world. The priority of Malta’s labour market should be the Maltese, and preferably in the private sector.

We get very worried when we see the public sector growing; we are already in a situation where 30 per cent of the workforce in the private sector is foreign. That foreign workers come and work here in Malta is not something which is

that rent is a return on an investment. If someone bought an apartment for €200,000 and is renting it out for €800 a month, the annual return is just three per cent. Trying to reduce that return could result in problems on supply in the rental market.In relation to this subject, it is also pertinent to speak about social housing as well. The policy relating to this has to be changed from top to bottom. It is well known that in the past social housing was given as a political favour; not to those who really needed social housing. There were also cases where government property was sold to the inhabitants at a low price, which they then sold on to make more money. Some properties which were meant to be social housing are now actually more luxurious than what is being sold in the private sector. There is also the matter of perpetual entitlement to note. If I reside in a government flat, my entitlement means that nobody can remove me from there. Therefore if, in the meantime my income has risen so much that I can afford a luxury car and a cabin cruiser, I can still remain living in social housing. These are crazy things.We think that these things have to change. The whole dynamic of social housing has to change in such a manner to clearly show that this is a step that could be temporary till the occupant can get back onto his or her feet and own his/her own property or rent from the private sector.Shifting to a society that relies on the rental market rather than buying property could also have vast repercussions. An example of where these repercussions can be felt is with pensioners. It is common to hear that today’s pensions are not adequate; and there is a big difference between a pensioner who owns his dwelling and a pensioner who must pay €700 a month in rent. That €700 a month in rent will eat up his whole pension. This is something that is not just happening in Malta; it is happening abroad as well. This is why certain people are ending up homeless; because despite the fact that they would have spent their lives working, they still would not have enough to pay rental fees when they retire. These are matters that definitely need to be addressed.