Government to announce more economic measures by end of the week – Schembri

The government will be announcing more economic measures by the end of the week, aimed at safeguarding jobs, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said.

In a Facebook message, Schembri also said that employers have to shoulder part of the burden created by the coronavirus situation.

People cannot expect the government to spend the €600 million the country made from the passport sale scheme at one go, he said.

The situation he said, has led to a decrease in business for a number of sectors, including tourism, hospitality and transport. Many businesses have understood that the health of the Maltese people comes first.

He assured businesses that the government is well aware of the situation and has already announced a set of economic measures to help in the situation. The main priority now is to safeguard jobs. It is the duty of employers and the government to make sure that workers do not bear the brunt of this dip in business, especially when the economy has gone through a good period over the last seven years.

Using the money made from the IIP scheme to make up for this shortfall in business would be “immature”, he said.

Businesses who held on to all profits when the going was good cannot expect workers to bear the brunt now, or for taxpayer money to make up for their losses. The government will be there to help businesses to overcome the situation.

When the economy was booming, the government did not raise taxes. Now, the government expects businesses to show solidarity with their employees.

The new measures that will be announced this week will be in the form of “direct” assistance to businesses, Schembri said.

He also appealed to workers to be more flexible and to cooperate with their employers so that together they can do what is needed.