Socialist militant slams Labour’s economic model

Veteran socialist militant and trade unionist Sammy Meilaq has formally condemned the Labour government’s budget measures affecting third-country nationals, accusing it of dividing workers while pursuing an economic model driven by private profit.

In a declaration issued in his personal capacity, independently of the groups he belongs to, Meilaq argued that migrant workers were being penalised for problems caused by the government’s own policies.

The former dockyard chairman said environmental destruction, excessive tourism, overcrowding and traffic congestion were consequences of an economic model that prioritised business interests over social needs.

Foreign workers, he insisted, were the effect rather than the cause.

Meilaq joined the dockyard as a shipwright apprentice in 1965 and served as chairman between 1985 and 1997 under its system of workers’ self-management. A former Labour national executive member and senior General Workers’ Union official, he was closely associated with Dom Mintoff and Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici.

His criticism targets Budget 2027 measures restricting benefits for affected third-country nationals, including free public transport and childcare, alongside increased work-permit costs and an annual infrastructure contribution.

Meilaq argued that Malta had invited foreign workers to fill labour shortages and should acknowledge their contribution rather than encourage divisions.

He nevertheless maintained that the government’s economic policies had encouraged recruitment beyond the country’s actual needs.

Drawing on the historic campaign for an eight-hour working day, he argued that unity between American and immigrant workers had helped secure rights subsequently enjoyed internationally.

Discrimination against migrant workers, he said, betrayed that tradition and meant the government would be repudiating, rather than celebrating, Workers’ Day on May 1, 2027.

Meilaq described the measures as neither socialist nor Christian, arguing that they burdened people already facing exploitation.

He warned that dividing Maltese and foreign workers would further weaken working-class solidarity, leaving employers as the beneficiaries of a workforce increasingly split against itself.