Robert Abela and ‘that work’

“Take id-Dar tal-Providenza,” Robert Abela said in an interview with The Times of Malta. “The majority of their staff are foreign workers.  I won’t say 100%, but close to 100% are foreigners.  Do Maltese workers want to go back to doing that work? Or do they want to work in the gaming sector?”

The work Abela was denigrating was the care for persons with disabilities. Abela fails to recognise the nobility of “that work”.  He seems completely blind to the profound social and moral contribution made by those who care for the sick, the elderly and the disabled.

Among those who have dedicated their lives to caring for those persons at Dar tal-Providenza are the Sisters of Charity of St Jeanne Antide Thouret.  They have been living and working full-time at that residential home since it first opened in January 1968.

And full-time, for the sisters, literally means full-time – every minute of the day and every minute of the night.  Individuals like Sister Bernarda Buhagiar and Sister Bertha Bezzina have poured love and dignity on those persons who benefited from their selfless dedication.  With them, countless volunteers, lay care workers, nurses and doctors like George Grech have given so much.

And yet our own Prime Minister belittles and disparages the noble work of those caring for the sick and disabled. He said, “One of the things I am most proud of as Prime Minister is that the Maltese workers moved from difficult jobs that give you less satisfaction and moved to gaming,” because Abela values money above all else.

He cannot understand the compassion, patience, resilience and professional skill required of those caring for the sick and disabled.  Far less can he understand the sense of fulfilment and satisfaction of taking on that role.  He doesn’t seem to comprehend how the work of those carers contributes in ways that go far beyond economics.

Abela, by his own admission, is proudest because Maltese workers shun working with the disabled and instead choose to work in gaming. When Abela speaks of the “gaming industry”, he’s really referring to gambling and betting. He’s not talking about playing video games.

It’s an industry based on wagering and gambling, and while the sector undoubtedly contributes to employment and tax revenue,  nobody can deny its very substantial harms and negative social impacts. Neither can anyone deny the widening inequalities created by the exorbitant salaries paid by the gaming industry and how others are priced out of the housing and rental market.

Abela brags that Labour elevated people’s quality of life – because they can buy cars, a modest boat and take two overseas holidays a year. The truth is the gambling industry he’s so proud of substantially erodes the quality of life of those affected by gambling addiction and their families.

The anxiety, depression and psychological distress, the financial hardship through debts and loss of savings and in some cases bankruptcy, the family conflict and relationship breakdown, the increased risks of alcohol and substance misuse and the poor physical health driven by gambling addictions are all too real.

“Gaming”, which contributes a massive 7% to our economy, has also produced higher housing costs and rising income inequality.

Owning a flashy car, a boat or other luxury possessions is not generally how quality of life is measured. Hedonic adaptation quickly leads to fading happiness with luxury purchases.  Once basic needs are met, additional wealth has diminishing returns for life satisfaction.

That’s why the OECD Better Life Index, the WHO quality of life framework and the UN Human Development Index focus on far more important things – health, education, social support, political freedoms and the ability to participate in society without fear and without being subject to the relentless harassment and demonisation by Labour’s media machine.

The OECD includes civic engagement and trust in institutions in measuring quality of life.  The WHO points out that feeling intimidated and unable to express your views freely significantly impacts social wellbeing.  No amount of purchasing power can improve your quality of life if you are harassed because of your opinions, if you are made to fear expressing political views or if you’re prevented from participating freely in public life.

Abela’s examples of what constitutes “elevating people’s quality of life” place a disproportionate emphasis on luxuries while overlooking traffic congestion, housing affordability, environmental degradation, strained public services, transport chaos or even a reliable power supply during Malta’s stifling summers.

And yet this is the man who promises to improve our quality of life by 25% over the legislature.  He’s proposed a new Wellbeing Index but has failed to indicate the precise methodology of how he’ll calculate that 25% improvement.

He hasn’t published the baseline score from which that 25% improvement will be measured.  He’s given no indication as to what weighting he has assigned to each of the domains he’s listed – but judging from his interview, we can surmise what his priorities are. No meaningful quality-of-life target can be truly reached without transparent indicators, published weightings and regular independent reporting.

Labour’s proposed Wellbeing Index does include “civil participation and rights” as one of its 10 dimensions. But what Labour really means by “civil participation and rights” nobody knows.  Does it include freedom of expression? Or the right to information? Does it include freedom from political harassment and intimidation? Does it include trust in democratic institutions?  Does it include protection from being blown up when you uncover the scandals of the ruling elite?

It’s difficult to imagine real improvement in quality of life when the man leading the country manifests such contempt for the most noble of human virtues – caring for society’s most vulnerable. It’s hard to believe quality of life will improve when money matters so much more to the man than meaning and purpose.