Author: SME Chamber

Green MT, has today
started a monthly collection of glass kerbside collection from Rabat as part of its agreement with
the Local Council to make sure that glass is no longer landfilled but either
sent to bring in Sites or else collected through this kerbside collection.

The
Scheme through its Eco Councillors (picture) has distributed leaflets door to
door to the Rabat residents. The leaflet outlines a holistic approach to waste
managment in the locality, by outlining collection days and times for both grey
bag and black bag, the nearest civic amenity site, how to use the bulky
collection services, the list of all available bring in Sites in Rabat and an
addittional list of Bring in Sites that cater for just glass collection.The leaflet also includes
the dates of the glass kerbside collection.

Green MT ,Eco Councillors
also visited Rabat last Wednesday to emphasize with residents the need to make
sure to take out their glass bottles on Friday 2nd May. The collection will be
made once monthly on the first Friday of the month as agreed with the Local
Council.'

"It is however important
that residents are aware that it not acceptable that glass goes to the mixed
black bag for any reason whatsoever, since there is the available
infrastructure to make sure glass is recycled" stated Mr Joe
Attard, CEO  Green MT, at the start of this initiative.

Green MT, the National Authorised
Packaging and Packaging Waste Compliance Scheme has held a meeting for its
Producer Members on Friday 25th April 2014. The meeting was addressed by GRTU
President, Mr Paul Abela who outlined how and why GRTU took up this
environmental responsibility for the business community through the setting up
of its own subsidiary Green MT in 2007.

In his opening address, Mr Abela
explained that at the time a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between
four Constituted Bodies to set up a company to take care of the Environmental
legal obligations of producers of packaging waste. This company, named UniGreen
Environmental, however never took off and out of all the Constituted bodies who
had committed themselves to Government on 25th October 2007, only GRTU took up
the responsibility through the setting up of Green MT.  Mr Abela
informed those present that establishing the legislation and the parameters so
that a pilot project for the collection of packaging waste funded by private
enterprises would take off was no easy task. Discussions were held with many entities
and Authorities, including the then Ministry for Finance, Ministry for
Resources and Rural Affairs, Department of Local Government, Wasteserv and
Local Councils Association, amongst others.

The initial pilot project in 2009
covered only 11 producers who financed the Scheme for its logistical operations
as of July 01, 2009. Since then the members have increased to over 1300 and
they continue to finance the Scheme accordingly. Paul Abela thanked the members
present for their continued support to the Scheme.

The meeting was then addressed by Green
MT CEO Joe Attard who firstly outlined that a Press Release issued through DOI
on 5th August 2011 ( PR1497) duly outlined that any insinuations made by anyone
alleging that Green MT reported weight factors which it did not recover were
without basis and the Scheme never included any packaging waste which it did
not recover. Mr Attard further outlined that operational permits were issued to
the Scheme for and up to December 2014.

During a technical presentation he
outlined the figures of market placement by producer members of the Scheme year
by year also what the Scheme was legally obliged to recover. In addition he
further explained that Legal Notice 84 of 2010 and Legal Notice 277 of 2006
were two distinct legal notices, however, a producer member could either need
to comply to one or both legislations accordingly.

Mr Attard outlined that in the year
2010, the Scheme was aware that the obligations of its just 120 members who
stated that they placed on the market 11,659 tons thus a maximum collection of
8161 tons would be effected by end May 2010 and as thus started discussions
with the same Authorities of the day and also the Approving Body to make sure
that an enforcement structure is put in place so that additional tonnage,
(excess tonnage) collected by the Scheme would be funded from such enforcement.
These discussions took until May 2011 when it was made aware that the Scheme
actually collected 14,131 tons. This clearly meant that the Scheme was able to
recruit members to the system who together placed on the market at least 20,187
tons. Since only 11,659 tons were registered with the Scheme in 2010 it showed
that Green MT had to receive a contribution for the additional 8,528 tons not registered
with the Scheme in 2010.

Enforcement through MEPA was agreed and
a MEPA circular dated May 01, 2011 was sent to many producers who were not
complying with the legislation. It outlined that it was providing a six day
time frame for producers to come in line or else face stiffer penalties or
fines. The circular further outlined that those joining an authorised Scheme
during the coming two months would still face penalties or administrative fines
for past non compliance but at €100 per ton of market placement after January
01, 2010. Mr Attard further outlined that on 7th March 2013 Green MT was
advised that in 2011 MEPA issued 1255 penalties amounting to over
€642,000. In the year 2012, 50 penalties were prepared amounting to €96,000 but
were never sent to producers. In addition whilst a good number of these fines
were paid there were others who opted not to pay and face legal action from
MEPA.

Further information requested by the
Scheme in relation to this aspect was never answered by MEPA despite making
these requests under the auspices of the Aarhaus Convention to their
Enforcement Directorate.

Mr Attard informed those present that
Green MT always went to the Authorities with tangible solutions as in the case
of excess tonnage collected in 2010 and never took funds which were not coming
from those producers who never complied with the legislation. The excess
tonnage amounted to a value of €810,065 of which €670,000 has been paid to the
Scheme and the remaining balance should be paid after Price Water House Coopers
checked the financial audit of the Scheme for 2010.

Green MT CEO continued saying that
currently accounts up to end 2010 have been presented to MFSA and Nexia BT is
working on the environmental audits for 2011 and 2012 whilst accounts for year
2011 and 2012 should be finalised by end of June 2013.

Mr Attard continued saying that
enforcement of any sort ceased from 1st January 2012 and to date there seems to
be none in place. He augured that once Environment and Resources Authority
enforcement would be much stronger and will reap the desired results. At this
stage however no discussions of any nature have been held to date.

Green MT's CEO continued saying that
even though some media reports alleged a number of irregularities affected by
the Scheme a collective Board decision agreed not to answer these allegations.
Those present should rest assured that Green MT is there to affect its legal
obligations towards its members.  Every
Compliance Scheme should be treated in the same manner and a fair level playing
field should be ensured.

The meeting closed with the CEO thanking
all members present and those who could not attend, the employees, The Board of
Directors, the Government Authorities and Ministries that Green MT has come
across over the years, the contractors, but last and not least the public in
general, residents of Malta and Gozo who in four and a half years managed to
collect just over 55,000 tons of recyclable waste, instead of sending it to the
landfill.

Green MT is an authorised Packaging
Waste Compliance Scheme duly authorised by the Malta Environment and Planning
Authority. Further information can be obtained by contacting our offices on 21
49 6965/6 during office hours.

Last Friday the Ministry for Education and Employment launched the National Employment
Policy, a policy endorsed by social partners, amongst which the GRTU, following
a consultation that the Ministry itself through the Jobs+ Committee and MCESD
carried out.

The policy is a very serious
one with measures addressing specific gaps in the current system. It is aimed
at both improving the situation for the employers and employees as well as
addressing long standing issues of abuses in the welfare system and the black
economy. The policy is in fact divided into 10 concrete measures. These
include:            

     –
Schemes for part-subsidised employment such as the Employment Aid Programme and
part-subsidised training such as the Training Aid Framework. These would remain
open for
a longer period.

–    Those
refusing employment opportunities or insisting on 'non-existent' vacancies will
no longer receive unemployment benefits.

–    Investment
in an IT system at ETC

–    More
flexibility at the workplace

A detailed
presentation was made by Mr Clyde Caruana, Chairperson of the Job+ Committee,
who outlined a number of statistics that show clearly where the gaps we have in
our employment system emanate from. Mr Caruana said that the level of
productivity and the level of investment in machinery and training needs to
increase. Malta stands second highest with the amount of students stopping
education at the secondary level, 5th highest in employers  finding difficulty to find skilled
individuals and 3rd highest in employers 
finding difficulty to find un-skilled individuals. The gap between the
pay of the unskilled and the skilled has widened and is continuing to widen.
Currently we have a significant amount of foreigners working in Malta that are
filling jobs that the Maltese are not skilled enough to do or do not want to
do.

Another
initiative announced was that Government would start paying the full maternity
leave in exchange for an equivalent increase in the social security
contribution paid by employers for each of their workers. The aim is to have a
level playing field and to distribute the cost of this measure among a bigger
pool of employers. This measure was intended to make it easier for women to
avail themselves of maternity leave. GRTU found this proposal interesting
however we would like to see how this will be worked out in practice and ensure
that the increase in social security does not exceed the amount that would be
paid by an employer during maternity leave. Having said this it would diminish
one of a number of challenges small businesses face when one of their employees
goes out on maternity leave.

Therefore you are invited
to a Consultation Session entitled "The Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership – Making Trade work for you" on 

Date: Tuesday, April 29,
2014

Time: 2 pm till 4 pm

Venue: Europe House, 254 St
Paul's Street, Valletta.

Proceedings will be as
follows:

2
pm                Registration

2:15
pm           Presentation
by Mr Iman Schembri (Director General, Economic Policy Department) and Mr David
Sammut (Director, International Economics Relations, Economic Policy
Department) from the Ministry for Finance.

3
pm                Question
& Answer time

All those wishing to
participate are kindly requested to register at: by
Monday, April 28.

The Traineeship scheme is intended to provide job seekers
with initial vocational training (pre-employment training) that will help them
to obtain the knowledge, skills and competence required to find and secure
employment. From an employers' perspective the scheme is also intended to help
them find suitably competent employees.

Programmes on offer:   

Sales
Techniques and Customer Care (9.5 weeks)

Who should participate?

Eligible
individuals would be 16 years of age and older, who hold at least MQF level 2
qualifications in Mathematics, English and Maltese Language and speak fluent
Maltese and English. This course is targeted at those persons who wish to work
in the retail industry for the very first time.

Off-the-job training:

Trainees
will attend the following course/s deliver

ed by
the Corporation:

1. Customer Care

Duration of course: 12 hours

2.     Vocational
Education and Training Award in Principles of Sales Techniques

Duration of course: 45 hours

Handyman/ Maintenance (32 weeks)

Who should participate?

This
course is intended for individuals who are 16 years of age and older, who
ideally have MQF level 1 qualification in Mathematics, Maltese and English
Literacy and speak fluent Maltese and English. This course is targeted at those
persons who wish to work as a Maintenance Man /Handyman.

Training

The
Traineeship is based on a dual system of vocational training, providing a
combination of theoretical knowledge supplemented by related hands-on practical
training.

Typically
during any week, a trainee will attend on-the-job training for four days with
an assigned employer – on the fifth day trainee will attend off-the-job,
theoretical training organised by the Corporation.

Office
Procedures (15 weeks)

Who should participate?

This
course is intended for individuals who are 16 years of age and older, who hold
at least three passes at O' Level standard including Mathematics, English and
Maltese Language and speak fluent Maltese and English. This course is targeted
at those persons who wish to work in an office environment.

Off-the-job training:

Trainees
will attend the following course/s delivered by the Corporation:

Vocational
Education and Training Award in Office Procedures

Duration
of course: 120 hours

Cleaning
attendant (11 weeks)

Who should participate?

This
programme is aimed at those persons aged 16 and over, who speak fluent Maltese
and English and wish to work in the cleaning industry

Off-the-job training:

Trainees
will attend the following course/s delivered by the Corporation: Vocational
Education and Training Award for Cleaning Attendants

Duration
of course: 72 hours

Traineeship offers a mix of on-the-job (80%) and off-the-job (20%)
training.

Grant – National Minimum wage split between trainee (80%) and
employer (20%)

This scheme has just launched and applications will be received till
the end of this month. Programmes will run during remaining months of this
year.

For more detailed guidelines and application forms please use this
link:

http://etc.gov.mt/Page/51/Traineeships-jobseekers.aspx

Voting by
persons who shall be abroad or hospitalized on polling day – 24th  May 2014 – The Electoral
Commission informs those voters who shall be abroad or hospitalized on polling
day,  Saturday, 24th May, 2014, that they
may make a declaration on oath before the Electoral Commissioners so that they
may cast their vote at the Naxxar Counting Complex on Saturday, 17th May,
2014. 

This declaration on oath shall be
made at the Office of the Electoral Commission, Evans Building, Merchants
Street, Valletta, or at the Identity Cards Office, St. Francis Square, Rabat,
Gozo,  by not later than noon of Friday,
16th May, 2014,  according to the hours
indicated below:

 Monday
to Friday:                  from 8.00 am
to 2.00 pm and from 3.00 pm to 7.00 pm

Saturdays
and Sundays:         from 8.00 am to 1.00
pm

When the
person calls to make the sworn declaration it is important that he/she brings
his/her identity or residence card, and that on the day of advanced voting
(17/05/2014) he/she must be in possession of the voting document as, without
it, no one shall be allowed to vote.

Travel
arrangements are being made for eligible voters residing abroad to enable them
to vote in Malta at the forthcoming European Parliament Election on 24^th May 2014.

For this
purpose, Air Malta plc will be making available return air tickets on its services
at a charge of €35, inclusive of taxes and other charges, to persons who are
eligible to vote in Malta at the forthcoming European Parliament
Election.  Reservations may be made at the Air Malta Call Centre on this specific
number (+356) 2599 1230 from tomorrow 25^th April at 08:00am. The centre will be open
between Monday to Saturday from 0800-2100hrs and on Sunday from 0800-1700hrs.

Inbound travel to Malta is possible from 14^th May to 24^th May 2014 and
return travel is from 24^th May to 1^st June 2014. Those persons who will opt for early voting on the 17^th May can travel
to Malta from 14^th May and may return as of the 17^th May and not later than 1^st June 2014.
Those voting early have to apply at the electoral commission by latest noon on
Friday 16^th May 2014.

These travel
arrangements are available for:

eligible voters, including those
married to foreigners, studying, working or undergoing medical treatment
abroad; and

their dependents. A dependent means;

the child or step-child of such
person under the age of eighteen years;

the spouse of such a person.

Persons to whom
this directive applies must be eligible voters whose name appears in the
Electoral Register published within five days from the publication of the
General Election Writ.

The Electoral
Commission reminds persons who, on the 31st March, 2014, were qualified to be
registered as voters, of the importance of verifying that their name and
particulars have been included in the revised electoral register published on the
7th April, 2014.

Persons
who obtained Maltese Citizenship through naturalization or registration and
certified dual nationals are entitled to be registered as voters in this
register if, on the 31st March, 2014, they had the necessary qualifications in accordance
with the Constitution of Malta and the General Elections Act (Chap. 354).  These persons are urged to verify their
inclusion in this Electoral Register.

Any
person whose name has not been included in this register, or whose particulars
appearing in the Register need to be corrected, may appeal to the revising
officer up to Monday, 28th April, 2014, to have his/her name included in this
register, notwithstanding that no prior application may have been made to the
Commission for such purpose.  

Further information on the
electoral procedure can be found at: www.electoral.gov.mt

A survey
concerning family businesses is being circulated for your perusal and we
encourage all family businesses to fill it in so that Malta in line with the
other EU countries can start compiling statistical information about family
businesses.

This is
an EU level survey conducted by the European Family Businesses (EFB) which
together with KPMG, are launching the 2nd Family Business Barometer to track
business trends within the family business community. Last year EFB and KPMG
successfully published the first Family Business Barometer in Europe. The 1st
edition received significant media coverage across Europe and the report proved
to be highly insightful but unfortunately Malta was not represented at that
time.

The Barometer will seek to
gauge your views and opinions on specific issues and topics to aid in a better
understanding of family business in 19 Member States of the European Union.
Through your insight the organisation hopes to strengthen the voice of family
businesses throughout Europe.

The Barometer will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Please use the following link to complete the Barometer: http://xs.motivaction.nl/s.asp?u=4BDC2DC689162436D94AB9C9625DEFCC51B81194&l=36