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Matthew Vella
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday unveiled the draft for consultation on the National Action Plan for Employment, a thorough and detailed plan of action set to raise the national employment rate, particularly that of women and workers aged 55 and over, by 2010.
Set over a five-year period, the plan has set itself ambitious targets for the generation of employment, based on 55 specific measures, thirty of which will be financed by EUR12 million (Lm5 million), approved by the European Social Fund, and another EUR2.3 million (Lm1 million) from the European Regional Development Fund.
“The plan is not a magic wand,” Gonzi said yesterday, flanked by Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea and ETC manager Sue Vella. “This is the instrument which provides a strategy for employment. The economy is never constant, and the scenario is always changing.
“Oil prices at present are affecting all European countries. This is an unplanned circumstance and it would be a mistake to think this plan is etched in stone. The plan will be reviewed and updated every year.”
An important aspect of the draft is to raise the female employment rate, through preventing and addressing discrimination, providing incentives for women to seek and take up work, and measures to enable a balance between work and family life.
Of the incentives listed, there is a proposal that women who have not worked for five years will be able to enjoy a one year tax holiday in their first year of employment. It is also being proposed that “from June 2005 working parents of children below the age of 3 will be granted capped assistance in the purchase of childcare services from a registered provider.”
The National Plan will be up for consultation with civil society and the social partners and will be presented to the Malta Council for Social and Economic Development on 24 September.
matthew@newsworksltd.com
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