The Confederation of Malta Trade Union releases a statement

The Confederation of Malta Trade Unions (CMTU) released this statement today:

The CMTU would like to express its preoccupation on the gravity of the situation in the country following the international publication of the Panama papers, the resulting anger of Maltese public opinion, and the consequences of delay of important and necessary decisions by the Maltese government.

The CMTU agrees with UHM Voice of the Workers and the Malta Employers Association (MEA) when expressing the opinion that this negative publicity from the scandal will have an impact on the Malta financial services industry and employment in this sector. The finance minister and the Head of delegation of the PL have been reported to concur with this opinion.

However, CMTU condemns the personal attacks on UHM and MEA officials who have expressed this opinion, and shows solidarity with them in what appears to be a threat to the fundamental right freedom of expression. In a mature democratic society, Social partners must be able to criticize the government without any form of intimidation.

Finally, CMTU strongly encourages the government to act swiftly, and as soon as possible take the necessary hard decisions, as alluded to by a number of senior members of the cabinet so as to limit the damage arising from the scandal of the Panama papers to the country. On the contrary, delayed or no decision would re-inforce the current negative effect.”