Malta Employers Reiterates its Call for Prudence and Realism in Pre-Election Commitments

Malta Employers is closely monitoring developments in the ongoing election campaign, with specific attention to the commitments being made to voters in relation to employment and working conditions.

Ahead of the commencement of the campaign the Association had cautioned all parties to refrain from putting forward proposals that lack holistic planning or that risk undermining the competitiveness of enterprises operating in Malta through increased costs or reduced operational flexibility. It regrets, however, that the campaign so far has been characterised by the main political parties attempting to out-bid each other in offering certain proposals for which employers and hard working taxpayers, and their children will need to foot the bill over the years to come.

In this context, significant debate has centred on flexible work-arrangements on which Malta Employers has been vociferous in these past months consistently maintaining that any extension of flexibility must be accompanied by measures that neutralise potential productivity losses. Such measures include stronger workers’ commitment (that may increase work-related stress), new investment in technology/automation or the recruitment of new employees which, will increase costs and in all probability will result in higher immigration levels and overcrowding.

In a survey amongst employers conducted in January 2026, 72 per cent of respondents said that they already offer flexible work arrangements to their employees, mainly to ensure a healthy work-life balance to their workers and in the process improving the company’s employer branding. Fewer than 1 per cent of companies reported plans to reduce their flexibility arrangements although the same survey showed that 40 per cent of employers said that less than 10 per cent of the work of their employees can be performed remotely. This means that there can be very little discussion, if any, about implementing new remote working and flexibility conditions if the nature of certain work precludes it.

In light of the country’s growing national debt and the need to ensure fiscal responsibility, Malta Employers must also comment on the affordability of certain pledges announced to the public. These include the promise to lower energy bills where the current subsidies are already a subject of contention even with the European Commission and a €1,000 annual bonus for all full-time employees (€500 for part-timers) in a measure set to cost €200 million – which is equivalent to almost double the Government’s annual contribution to the University.

Against this backdrop, and in light of a sustained pattern of relentless construction persisting for decades resulting in the erosion of open-spaces and the adverse impact on morale and wellbeing of workers and citizens, Malta Employers also raises concerns with respect to statements made on planning reform and revisions to the Local Plans. For too long has the country’s economic progress been fuelled by construction activity which is not sustainable in the long-term. Past mistakes made over successive Administrations have left the country to deal with an “uglification” issue in terms of the built environment that must be reversed. In line with a wide national consensus that the current situation is no longer tenable, the Association appeals to the political parties to strengthen, not weaken, planning laws and regulations in such a way as to enhance the rights of residents who are already burdened by intensive development and to support serious professional organisations in their efforts to raise the bar in the construction industry as a whole.

Malta Employers shall publish its Memorandum to Political Parties in the coming days.

ENDS

4 May 2026