Constituted bodies warn against surge in public sector employment

Many have to resort to replacing Maltese employees lost to the public sector with other nationalities. This is changing the distribution of the labour force, as government is employing a greater percentage of the Maltese labour force, with companies compensating for labour shortfalls by engaging more foreign labour."

The business organisations stated that they are convinced that, in many cases, there is no real need for these persons in the public sector. "It must be borne in mind that public sector

employment is financed by the output and taxes generated by entrepreneurs and their employees, and depleting the private sector of human resources will spell trouble even for tax revenue generation. "

The employer organisations warned that an ageing work force across the European Union will present a challenge in Malta in the coming years, as countries will compete for the younger cohort.

"This is all the more reason why government should not make the situation worse, simply for political ex

pediency. Human resources in Malta are scarce and limited, and therefore cannot be squandered in this manner. To make matters worse, many companies are also complaining about the difficulties they still encounter in employing third country nationals, including cases of repatriation of workers who have been working here regularly for years. The economy can only progress by upskilling the local labour force and channelling it into productive use, both in the private and public sector."