Author: SME Chamber

The GRTU has this week attended a meeting at the Roads and Infrastructure Directorate (RID) to discuss the further expansion of Main Street Complex in Paola scheduled for the first week of March. The site is located in Paola's busy main square. It is approximately 30.0 metres deep and one of MEPA's conditions is to retain the existing façade. For this reason it was discussed there is no other logical way to work safely except to mobilize a tower crane that will be capable to carry out all different trades.

 

 

 

 

GRTU would like to inform that the base of the tower crane will be located by the building and will exceed slightly further than the pavement itself onto the parking bay. A safe passage for pedestrians going down in the direction of the Hibs club will be provided during the five (5) months of construction works. A safe passage will thus be constructed starting from current MAIN STREET complex and extending to the other side of the site with the main part being roofed over not to inconvene pedestrians with any possible concrete droplets or any other small debris. When lifting heavy objects, all pedestrian activity will stop until the material is hoisted from the truck to the site entrance. This agreement has been reached between the Paola Local Council, the GRTU and TM.

GRTU officials have this week met officials from the Occupational, Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) led by Dr Mark Gauci to discuss how both bodied can work closer for the benefit of the private sector.

 

GRTU called the meeting following publication of two Legal Notices earlier this year by the same OHSA. The meeting was called because the GRTU feels its members would benefit from more direct contact with the OHSA, through the GRTU, in the areas such as improved access to information, training, funding for adherence with standards, etc… The GRTU had in fact today week – 17.02.12 – congratulated the OHSA on the first legal notice it had issued this year, since the fines were of a civil nature and not criminal, however it had criticized the OHSA on the same legal notice as the GRTU wanted to see the same efforts by the OHSA to educate and not only to penalize.

The GRTU believes that there is much space for improvement in the way the private sector are guided. It is not enough to publish something on a website or through a legal notice and pretend that the private sector is to follow automatically. Health and Safety at work is an important issue, especially for small businesses who as a majority employ their family members or who's employees have been with them for a long time and therefore their health and safety is important. At the same time however their prime task and objective during a day is to do business and they therefore cannot be expected to spend a day in front of their computer monitoring for new rules and regulations that may affect them. A case in point is the second Legal Notice issued by the OHSA on maximum exposure to certain chemical agents at work. How many in the private sector affected by this law know about this obligation and what it means for them?

The GRTU has therefore discussed with the OHSA how the information flow will successfully also flow through the GRTU and how the approach of the authority, when providing information to the private sector, will become more dynamic and interactive.

The OHSA reminded the GRTU that they are a bit low on resources and therefore cannot concede to GRTU's request of holding a two hour consultation session for a particular sector every month. Following however pressure for the GRTU, as battling with limited resources is something that is common to practically everyone in Malta and the importance justifies the effort, the OHSA did however agree to collaborate with the GRTU according to the work they had at hand. Prior to enforcement they would be doing, according to the legal notice they publish, etc…

GRTU is pleased with this arrangement and considers it to be a good start which will lead to a more effective regard of OHS standards. The GRTU and the OHSA have already identified a number of topics and sectors that will be tackled during the coming year.

Il-GRTU kitbet lill-Awtorita' ta' Malta dwar ir-Rizorsi ghan nom tal-Operaturi tal-Water Bowsers b'referenza ghac-cirkolari mibghuta lis-sidien kollha mill-MRA fis-16 ta' Jannar 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Il-GRTU talbet posponiment tad-data ndikata l-15 ta' Frar 2012 ghal hlas tad-dritt annwali tal-etracking ta' €425, sa data wara li dik li fiha l-Gvern ikun habbar il-prezz tal-ilma.

Il-GRTU spjegat li tesigi illi dan il-prezz ikun maghruf qabel ma l-operaturi ma jaghmlu l-investiment necessarju marbut mal-etracking peress li kull operatur ghandu jaghrbel jekk ikunx ser ikompli jahdem fis-settur jew le.

Din id-decizjoni personali tista' tittiehed biss meta l-operaturi jkunu maghrfa dwar il-prezz tal-ilma. Sadanittant l-GRTU qeghda tinsisti li din it-talba tigi milqugha mill-Awtorita' ghall-ahjar andament ta' dan is-settur.

Green MT has earlier today launched a waste separation initiative at St Margherita College Girls Secondary at Cospicua. Green Mt officially provided the school with 38 separation bins for paper and plastic during an event which was held at the school today.

 

During the event , Green MT Eco Councillors outlined the fact that collection of recylables in schools is one of our foremost priorities. Students were advised as to the best way to use the bins being provided by the Scheme and were also advised to follow up sure that waste separation is also being done at home. Eco Councillors informed the students that today the material recovery facility at Sant Antnin sends away over 1000 containers for recycling at authorised facilities in other countries. They also encouraged students to make sure that all efforts are made to stay on the forefront of recycling in Schools.

Green MT CEO Joe Attard outlined that Green MT is a subsidiary company of the GRTU Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, and that the operation is of purely not for profit. Green MT is an authorised Waste Packaging Compliance Scheme operating with best available technologies at the lowest of costs possible. Green MT has established agreements with 40 Local Councils and caters for collection of recyclables from 94 schools within these localities. St Margherita College, Girls Secondary, is one of the very first to be given complete hardware in relation to collection of recyclabele material. Joe Attard thanked the administration of the college for their interest and their cooperation with the Scheme. He further outlined that in April students would be given the opportunity to visit the Materials Recovery facility at Sant Antnin where they would be able to see the whole process, from receipt of material to final preparation for export. Green Mt believes this is an essential step for the students to understand and appreciate what their efforts lead to and also increase their enthusiasm.

On behalf of the College, Joe Ellul outlined that being a small country, students should do their best to make sure that the mentality change continues to grow, starting at College and continuing at home. He further outlined that no one wants another landfill like the ones at Maghtab or Wied Fulija, which have been built over many generations and are today one of the black marks of our society. He urged students to take the matter seriously and to make sure that they gave their full cooperation. Mr Ellul thanked Green MT for being proactive in providing the hardware for the college and assured that there will be continued cooperation both with the staff and also the students.

Mr Farrugia EESC member and GRTU Director General was one of only 9 EESC members to be asked to speak during the EESC's 478^th Plenary session and given specific time to address Joaquín Almunia, Commissioner for competition policy, European Commission 2010-2014, on the 23^rd of February.

 

Mr Farrugia told the Commissioner that when it comes to State aid, we all know that it is a main source of unfair competition and most of the money goes to large enterprises. Therefore, we depend on the European Commission to enforce the needed control and to allow state aid only in clearly justified cases. Furthermore, state aid control does not work without monitoring and enforcement.

Mr Farrugia continued saying that we know that the Commission currently is preparing the review of many state aid regulations, of extreme importance for SMEs, such as Regional Aid Guidelines, R&D and Innovation Framework, de Minimis Regulation, etc. He also asked the Commissioner to disclose of the overall direction these reviews will go and if he is willing to reinforce State aid control after loosening it during the current crises?

The Commissioner replied that state aid is given out by Governments. He is conscious however of the point raised on ratios going to the larger enterprises as compared to small and micro enterprises in particular.

Under the New Guidelines that will be published next spring in fact he said that he is pushing so that those classified as the richest countries with 75% EU GDP will no longer get approval for any state aid to large enterprises as large enterprises in these countries have the means necessary to acquire funds within the money market and any state aid availability they have should go to SMEs who find it hard to obtain funding. In this connection also the De minimis clause will be amended and increased substantially, again to enable greater support to SME's. The push will be towards state aid that will correct the imbalance "but it is not an easy task. In this regard he called for the support of European and national level organisations as he admitted to be finding opposition from a number of Member States' Governments".

Mr Farrugia also criticised the fact that on the First European Semester launched by President Barroso said that unless reforms are immediately introduced to liberalise labour markets and make the single market more competitive and access to finance to SMEs easier, than growth will not be more than 1.5%. Now only the day before Mr Barroso had said that growth in Europe today will not be above "0"%. Vincent Farrugia asked is this not a certificate of failure in the Commission's and the Council's commitment for reform? Do we need a Mario Monti in Brussels too to get the necessary reforms in the countries where they are most needed? SME's are not afraid of reforms, we want reforms to grow. Mr Barroso also said that if each of the 23 million small businesses in the EU will employ just one person the 23 million unemployed in the EU will be employed. Mr Farrugia told Mr Almunia to correct the imbalance and he will be surprised what growth SMEs will create.

Vincent Farrugia also made a comment on Project Bonds as under the Connecting Europe Facility. It is not good money after bad money accumulated in national debts that we want but project bonds that finance the kind of projects that invest in sustainable growth and with great economic linkages with the greatest number of SME's.

The EU's Intelligent Energy – Europe (IEE) programme has become the main EU instrument to catalyse the spread of the efficient use of energy, greater use of renewable energy sources and more efficient transport. All legal entities, public or private, from the Member States and a number of associate countries that have the financial, technical and operational capacity to complete the action to be supported can participate in a consortium.

 

Actions that will be supported are the promotion of increased energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources by overcoming non-technological barriers (legal, financial, institutional, cultural and social barriers) as per objectives set in the IEE work programme 2012. The project has to have clear objectives, high impact and clear European added value. The consortium has to consist of at least 3 partner organisations from 3 different eligible countries. The project budget is usually between € 0.5 – 2.5 million and the funding for the project is maximum three years. Under the IEE the EU can co-fund up to 75% of the total eligible costs.

The 2012 call is currently out. The deadline is 8 May 2012, 17:00 CET.  For more information kindly visit: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/call_for_proposals/index_en.htm

The application forms and guide for proposers available online. You will need these resources to submit or participate in an IEE project. Please find them here: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/call_for_proposals/call_library_en.htm

FUNDING PRIORITIES FOR 2012

1 SAVE: Energy efficiency   

1 SAVE – Industrial excellence in energy

2 SAVE – Consumer behaviour

3 SAVE – Energy services

2 ALTENER: New and renewable energy resources   

1 ALTENER – Electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-e)

2 ALTENER – Bioenergy

3 STEER: Energy in transport  

1 STEER – Energy-efficient transport

2 STEER – Clean and energy-efficient vehicles

4 Integrated Initiatives   

1 Energy-efficient Public Spending Initiative

2 Local Energy Leadership

3 Mobilising Local Energy Investments

4 Energy efficiency and renewable energy in buildings

5 Build Up Skills

The call document with all the information about the above mentioned priorities can be downloaded here: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/files/call_for_proposals/call_2012_en.pdf

Let yourself be inspired by the 44 past projects: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/27&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Take a look at the presentations given during the 2011 European info day to get a clearer idea: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/events/infodays_en.htm

Further information about this programme may be accessed by contacting directly Mr. Salvatore Morgan at the Ministry of Finance on

 

MaltaEnterprise seeks to support local business to grow and develop through a multi-sectoral internationalisation programme. These efforts are being intensified to provide opportunities for Joint Ventures, Technology Transfer, Licensing and Franchising, Exports and Trading. The Internationalisation Unit within Malta Enterprise will assist through the organisation of business seminars, matchmaking events, trade exhibitions, follow-ups and market research. The following Calendar of Events is being published in order for interested parties to plan their participation and prepare their contacts.

Date	Event	Country	Sector
24-26 January	Trade Fair – ICE	United Kingdom: London	I-Gaming
18-25 February	Business Delegation	South Africa: Johannesburg & Cape Town	Multi-sectoral
24-28 March	Business Delegation	Israel: Tel Aviv	Multi-sectoral
13-18 April	Business Delegation	Saudi Arabia & Qatar: Riyadh & Doha	Multi-sectoral
14-16 May	Trade Fair – EBACE	Switzerland: Geneve	Aviation
20-24 May	Trade Fair – Libya Build	Libya:Tripoli	Building & Construction
22-25 May	Business Delegation	Italy: Milan	Sectoral
5-7 June	Trade Fair – EIRE	Italy: Milan	Property & Construction
17-20 June	Business Delegation	Tunisia: Tunis	Multi-sectoral
2-6 July	Business Delegation	Germany: Cologne & Munich	Sectoral
3-8 September	Business Delegation	Sweden & Denmark: Stockholm & Copenhagen	Sectoral
19-22 September	Trade Fair – Monaco Boat Show	Monaco	Maritime
1-5 October	Business Delegation	UK & Ireland: London & Dublin	Sectoral
20-28 October	Business Delegation	Hong Kong & China: Hong Kong & Shanghai	Multi-sectoral
21-25 October	Trade Fair – SIAL	France: Paris	Food & Beverage
9-14 November	Business Delegation	UAE & Kuwait: Abu Dhabi & Kuwait City	Multi-sectoral

To Be Announced

Business Delegations to Libya are lined up but dates have not been set as ME is presently building strong relations in Libya so that delegations can be professionally organised and serve as a platform to penetrate the Libyan market for the longer term.

Notes

The Business Delegations refer to events organised by ME whereby companies will form part of a delegation to a targeted market/s where one-to-one meetings will be held. The Trade Exhibitions are usually fairs where Maltese companies have their own stands under the ‘umbrella' of ME. This list does not include those fairs where Maltese companies take part on their own initiative, though they still may obtain funding under the current ME schemes. The programme of events and dates may be subject to change and is demand led. Other events may also be included.

For further information on all of the events kindly call the Internationalisation Unit within MaltaEnterprise on +356 2542 0000 or email

A big step towards a safer use of hazardous chemicals was taken today with the publication of the first EU Classification and Labelling Inventory. Released by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), it lists the classification of all the chemical substances used in the EU which allows identifying those that are potentially hazardous and may damage health and the environment. The aim is to provide industry, and in particular small companies, with easy access to information on the hazardousness of a given substance, facilitating the task to correctly classify and label substances and mixtures, as well as substitution of hazardous substances with less damaging alternatives where feasible.

 

The Inventory compiles information from over 3 million notifications for more than 100.000 substances submitted by manufacturers and importers in the framework of the Classification and Labelling Regulation (CLP) or registered under the REACH Regulation. Classification is essential to the safe use of chemicals because it indicates whether a chemical is hazardous and can damage health or the environment, and it determines the content of the labels of products used by workers and consumers. The Inventory should also help to promote a uniform classification of hazardous substances in Europe and in the world.

European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship said: "This first inventory will make it easier for companies – including small businesses – to classify and label chemicals correctly. Again Europe is a frontrunner and publication of the Inventory will promote safer use of chemicals world-wide".

Janez Potočnik, Commissioner for Environment said: "This Inventory will increase transparency and improve safety for all those handling chemicals. It will help industry to select less hazardous chemicals and ultimately enable downstream users and consumers to choose products less harmful for health and the environment."

For more information:

ECHA – European Chemicals Agency

Towards harmonised classifications for all hazardous

substances

The inventory will greatly enhance the availability of information on the classification of all substances placed on the market in the EU. Based on experience from the past, it is to be expected that the inventory contains divergent information for identical substances, as different classifications may have been notified by different companies for the same hazardous substance. This stems mainly from impurities contained in substances or different information used by companies to classify the same substance. The Inventory will be a basis for companies to undertake efforts to agree on a uniform classification for a given substances as required by the CLP Regulation. In order to assist companies in this process, ECHA will develop a specific communication tool that will facilitate contacts among manufacturers and importers of chemicals, who wish to discuss reasons for differences and, where feasible, agree on a uniform classification. Manufacturers and importers of chemicals are encouraged to check the classifications for their substances in the Inventory and update their notifications if necessary. ECHA will regularly update the content of the Inventory.

Background

The main objective of the CLP Regulation is to protect human health and the environment. It also aims to facilitate the functioning of the internal market by harmonising the classification of substances and mixtures.

The Regulation is in line with the United Nations Globally Harmonised System for classification and labelling (GHS). The aim of GHS is to achieve global convergence of classification systems for chemicals, which will facilitate trade and improve the level of protection, in particular in countries that so far have not yet used such systems.

The responsibility for classifying substances and for agreeing on their uniform classification lies with industry. However, for substances with particularly severe hazards – such as substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction – Member State authorities and ECHA review all available information and propose harmonised classifications which the Commission makes mandatory through legislation.

 

AISE – the international Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products – is launching a new initiative: Product Resource Efficiency Project for Fabric Conditioners" (PREP-FC). It consists in encouraging detergent manufacturers or brand-owners to compact/concentrate their products in order to ensure the same efficiency with a lesser quantity of chemicals. This change also induces a decrease in the use of packaging and energy, for instance in terms of transport of products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PREP-FC is targeting liquid fabric conditioners. Companies committing to the project will be requested to lower the recommended dosage of their products in European countries of their choice at or below 35ml/wash. Specific on-pack labels will inform consumers about the concentration. The project is open also to companies that do not manufacture but only place liquid fabric conditioners on the market. 

The project should be launched on 1 July 2012 and will last two years. The first year will only be open to commitment by companies in order to allow all companies to make the necessary changes in view of their participation. Products meeting the project's requirements will only be allowed to carry the communication material on shelves as from 1 July 2013. 

For further information kindly contact Abigail @ GRTU