MINTOFF’S REVOLUTION: A LABOUR LESSON LOST IN TIME

by Joe Vella

Dom Mintoff had a sharp vision where jobs for the Maltese came first in promoting manufacturing and tourism. If the people weren’t gainfully employed, their talents and time would be wasted and social problems would multiply. In setting up d-Dejma, a source of derision for the opposition at that time, he gave military posts to the Dejma members, seeking to beef up the country’s military forces which had languished with an image problem in the presence of professional foreign military forces on the island. He knew that the foreign military presence had only a fleeting time left, and that the Maltese military would soon need to assert an indispensable role. At the same time, recruiting thousands of soldiers to do nothing but be ready for whenever they were needed was an economic luxury the country could not afford. So, in the meantime the soldiers were used for public works, as necessary.

Using Maltese labour, from 1970 to 1974, Malta’s GDP growth averaged 6.9% annually, soaring to an astonishing 11.8% from 1975 to 1979. Mintoff’s 1970s transformed Maltese labour into an economic powerhouse. But this was not to last. By the end of the 1970s, precocious ministers such as Wistin Abela, started flooding public works with their constituents who often lacked skill but sought to make up for their uselessness by publicly pledging allegiance to Wistin. When an afternoon meeting was convened at the Malta Shipbuilding for government members to greet the workers, in marched il-Baħri at the start of the meeting. He was a boisterous, muscular, and cheerful worker from Żejtun holding a massive placard made of metal and wood of Wistin Abela adorned in fresh flowers. In Hindu ceremonies, the placards adorned with images of gods and fresh flowers are commonly referred to as “prabhavali” which translates to “circle of light” or “aura,” symbolizing the divine radiance of the deity. Something was changing in the public work culturewhere jobs were transforming into meaningless economic tools that put money in the workers’ pockets for nothing.

By the time Labour came back to power after an extended period of Nationalist governments, the concept of meaningless jobs had captured the imagination of Labour MPs. Workers were increasingly poached from the private sector and employed with the government instead. The beach cleaners became legendary, showing up for work early in the morning and by 7:00 AM were on their way back home. Starving for labour, the private sector imported over 100,000 foreign workers, who worked harder and for cheaper rates. As a result, the Maltese share of the national economic pie diminished dramatically as private industry and foreign workers captured larger slices of it.

We carefully avoid comparing our post-2013 results against Mintoff’s achievements. The party is aware that without the EU’s generosity, it would have less handouts to pass on to the people. Mintoff’s policies ensured ordinary Maltese shared in the nation’s wealth, while today’s growth often enriches a select few, leaving many struggling with rising costs. Mintoff was a no-nonsense man with a no-nonsense agenda. If he were to visit Kastilja again today, he would be shocked and baffled by Labour’s new priorities, blinding the masses with trivial gender theory and promoting suicide as a medical solution for the vulnerable. He would be heartbroken to notice how the young have given up on having children in the face ofunforgiving cost-of-living and pencil block apartments that are not fit for raising a family.

We are doing a disservice to our legacy of shared prosperity under Dom Mintoff’s 1970s government by trying to ignore it and promote instead the outcomes since 2013. Mintoff’s era with its 6.9-11.8% GDP growth, coupled with a welfare state that lifted the vulnerable, created a society where prosperity was shared. Social reforms, from pensions to housing, prioritised equity, while national milestones like the republic’s birth instilled pride. In contrast, Labour’s post-2013 growth, while impressive, has widened inequality, flooded us with foreign labour, strained services, and compromised governance. For a Malta that truly serves its people, Mintoff’s 1970s remain a benchmark of what Labour could, and should, boldly aspire to achieve.