Category: Archive – 2013

GRTU held a
cordial meeting with Mr. Joshua Zammit, CEO at Malta Industrial Parks in
relation to a number of issues facing GRTU's members in Gozo. The meeting
focused on the current situation of leases at Ta' Dbiegi Crafts Village and the
conditions issued with each individual lease.

Mr Paul
Abela, GRTU President outlined that it was MIP's responsibility to make sure
that although policies change from time to time, certain primary conditions
should remain cardinal. In this case, some leases were issued for 65years,
others for ten years and expired many years ago, others for three to five
years. A major condition of a leased unit included manufacturing of crafts on
site and selling them from this Crafts Village.

GRTU
officials present for the meeting pointed out that a Crafts Village cannot be
allowed to deteriorate to just retailing because of a few operators who should
know better. GRTU stated that MIP is responsible to enforce the fact that the
conditions of the lease should be respected.

MIP CEO
Joshua Zammit advised that he will look into the leases and provide feedback to
GRTU at the earliest possible. A few individual issues related to individual
tenants of land, leased by MIP were also discussed and it was agreed that GRTU
is to send all documents so that individual cases are followed. GRTU officials
thanked Mr Joshua Zammit for his hospitality and will be awaiting feedback

GRTU has this week written to the Minister for Transport and
Infrastructure Hon. Joe Mizzi, to bring to his attention the situation being
endured by business owners in Republic Street. GRTU explained that they feel
discriminated due to the fact that for the last years tourists coming to Malta
by cruise liners have been pushed directly into Merchants Street through a
direct transport system and the lift.

GRTU has complained about the situation on several
occasions and the reason given to us was always that Republic Street is being
avoided due to the extensive works being carried out as part of the project. At
the time in fact the pavement was not completed but today Republic Street is
once again fit and is able to welcome tourists. GRTU emphasized that having
spent so much money on this project the very entrance of Republic Street now is
in itself fascinating and a tourist attraction, encompassing the world famous
Renzo Piano Parliament as well as the view of the freshly excavated fortress.

 

GRTU therefore called for a shuttle service from the
cruise liner terminal to the bus terminal to be provided immediately with the
introduction of the new arrangement provided by Arriva.

GRTU President Paul Abela and
Renewable Energy Section President Noel Gauci have reached an agreement with
the Minister for Energy and the Conservation of Water, Hon Konrad Mizzi, to
join forces and boost the sector that operates in Photovoltaics in both quality
and sales.

Through this agreement the Ministry will be supporting schemes
earlier launched by GRTU, namely the GRTU APPROVED Certification and the PVPFS
(PV Purchase Facilitation Scheme) to increase the number of families becoming
owners of a safe, renewable energy system. As a first step of the agreed plan
the Ministry and the Malta Resources Authority (MRA) will be sponsoring a
promotion and information campaign through various media, followed by a
specialized fair in October.

These GRTU schemes are aimed
at raising the quality standards in sales methods and installations, make PV
systems affordable to more families and as a result increase sales. Quality is
continuously being monitored by GRTU officials while purchasing is made easy
via a three year loan scheme with no interest or charges for the clients. Some
GRTU APPROVED members market their total system cost as low as €25/month (€900)
thanks to the grant being offered by the MRA, electricity produced during this
3 year period and the PVPFS scheme.

GRTU welcomes the positive
attitude of the Minister and we feel this augurs well for the sector and will
set renewable energy in Malta on the way to become at par with other European
Member States. This is the kind of responsive attitude we wish to see more in
the public service in general where they regard the private sector and their
representatives as partners with whom they can collaborate for the benefit of
everyone.

Another very important issue
GRTU is discussing with the Ministry are the plans for large PV farms with the
aim of achieving the best deals from investors whilst giving all operators the
chance to participate in the supply and installation processes. GRTU is also
proposing that pockets of up to 3kW of these PV farms are made available for
sale to families that do not own roof space where they can have their own PV
system installed, solving a long standing situation of frustration for these
families. GRTU is insisting that given all the limitations we are faced with in
our country such as capability of Enemalta to sustain considerable increase in
feed in tariff payments and suitable rooftops and land availability, prior to
the approval of large projects, MRA together with GRTU should ensure that these
are backed by a plan aimed at creating long term and sustainable green jobs for
all operators and opportunities for Maltese families. GRTU is convinced that
through ongoing dialogue the interests of everyone can be safeguarded.

GRTU was this week invited to
attended a Press Conference during which Parliamentary Secretary for
bureaucratic reform, Dr  Michael Farrugia
said that bureaucratic reform was going to be a continuous process aimed at
changing practices in the civil service as well as changing the mindset of the
public sector employees.  He added that
where necessary the simplification of administrative processes would lead to
amendments to relevant laws.

GRTU Deputy President
Philip Fenech explained that GRTU is in favour of a bottom up approach and
where the approach is one where we work together and not an ‘us and them'
stand. GRTU also welcome this new energy which is intended to get things done.
This subject is always high on the EU agenda. As we have for long been stating
small business owners are hit by bureaucracy hardest as they lack resources to
deal with bureaucracy. GRTU argued in favour of simplification procedures that
would also contribute to less time consumption on work not necessary for their
business.

Mario Cutajar, Principal
Permanent Secretary, announced that as from October he will be meeting the
unions representing civil service employees to identify and implement the
necessary changes in the work practices. He explained that systems put into
force should satisfy the people's needs through an efficient system involving
qualified and skilled public service employees.

During the press
conference the input of social partners was requested. Members having any
issues to raise in this regard are to contact GRTU.

 

 

L-GRTU, Kamra Maltija
ghall-Intraprizi Zghar u Medji kitbet lill-Hon Roderick Geldes, Segretarju
Parlamentari, ghall-Biedja, Sajd u d-drittijiet ta` l-annimali, fejn
irringrazzjatu ghall-laqgha kordjali li saret mieghu, fl-4 ta' Gunju 2013.

Fl-Ittra, il GRTU
esprimiet li taqbel mall-proposta li giet ipprezentata fejn intqal li
l-Pitkalija ghandha bzonn tigi orgnizzata sabiex tkun tista twassal servizz
ahjar. Il-GRTU pero qalet li hi kemm xejn imhassba dwar l-pjan imsemmi
fl-istess laqgha li jghaqqad l-istakeholders kollha fosthom l-pitkala,
l-operaturi tal-frott u  tal-patata  fi progett wiehed.

Waqt l-istess laqgha giet
diskussa l-espressjoni ta' interess fejn is-Segretarju Parlamentari  nforma li din ghadha taht diskussjoni u li
l-investitur interessat fil-progett kien tkellem mal-operaturi.

L-GRTU fakkret li
laqqghet lill-operaturi diversi drabi fejn dawn baqghu jinsistu li maghhom ma
saru l-ebda laqghat sabiex tigi diskussa l-espressjoni ta' interess.

Il-GRTU ghaldaqstant
talbet sabiex tigi organizzata laqgha malajr kemm jista jkun sabiex tinghata
izjed informazzjoni fuq il-mod u manjiera ta' kif il-gvern ser jagixxi
fil-konfront ta' din l-espressjoni ta' interess specifikament relatata
mall-importazzjoni tal-frott.

Il-GRTU talbet wkoll
sabiex jergghu jsiru laqghat mal-istakeholders kollha qabel ma tittiehed
decizjoni.

The Malta-EU Steering and Action
Committee (MEUSAC), in collaboration with the Ministry for Transport and
Infrastructure and the Ministry for Tourism, will be organising a consultation
session on a Package of Proposals from the European Commission entitled ‘Single
European Sky 2+‘.

 

This consultation will
mainly focus on the following key elements namely:

Better Safety and oversight;

Better Air Traffic Management Performance;

New business opportunities in support services;

Enabling industrial partnerships.

 

The consultation session
will be held on October 2, at MEUSAC, 280, Republic Street, Valletta at 2pm.

GRTU would like to pass on to
you an invitation to the National Annual HR Conference organized by the
Foundation of Human Resources Development. The Conference will be held on
Friday 11th October at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.

 

Below is the programme:

08.30 Welcome Coffee and Registration

09.00 Welcome address by the President

09.05 Nine habits of HR professionals that make them
indispensible for business success

09.45 Questions and Answers from the floor

10.00 Workshop A

– Talent Management at Actavis
and SRTechnics

– Raising the HR bar – a plan of
action

– Virtually everyone manages pro jects – even if it's not in your job title

 

11.00 Coffee Break including Networking   and Exhibition

 

11.30 Workshop B

– Managing Performance at BOV

– HR as a catalyst in the public
sector

– Negotiating sustainable reward systems and
competition

 

12.30 Lunch Break

 

13.45 Workshop C

– Sharpening HR practice through
competencies: 3 practical examples

– Awareness of Occupational
Health & Safety  Legislation amongst
employers

– Strategic HR and Social Media – Groundbreaking
methods of HR

 

14.45 Panel Discussion

HR strategy and the link to workforce management with
particular emphasis on bridging skills required

 

15.45 You can only create that which you can IMAGINE Imagine
success and breed success

 

16.30 Networking time

 

17.00 End of Conference

 

A conference fee
of €200 applies and discounts are available on group bookings.

 

Further information and
online registration is available at: http://www.fhrd.org/?page=event-details&id=51 or by calling Nadine Borg on 2137 0685 or email

EuroCommerce and Food Drink
Europe have launched a joint guidance brochure on the EU labelling rules, which
will enter into force on 14 December of this year.
The comprehensive, 99-page
document, developed over the last two years by the two organisations, is aiming
to provide a common understanding between European retailers and manufactures
on what the new EU requirements mean in practice.

The Guidance should be of
particular help to small and medium-sized food business operators in their work
to comply with this complex piece of legislation. The document, available only
online, includes a Q&A section. It will remain as a 'live' document, to be
updated on the basis of ongoing discussions with and between the Commission and
Member States.

This guidance brochure
can be found at:

http://www.eurocommerce.be/resource-centre.aspx#Publication/6282

GRTU Renewable Energy Section
representative, Noel Gauci attended an interesting round-table discussion
related to country specific recommendations of the Commission to Malta in
relation to Eco Sustainability. Anne Charlotte Becker, the policy officer for internal
and inter-institutional relations within the Commission Directorate General for
Climate Change, took particular interest in arguments raised by GRTU. In fact
she intends to keep contact and seek information through GRTU in the future.

She was mainly interested
in the fact that we have been preaching that renewable energy projects need to
generate green jobs, as this is the main concern of the Commission regarding
Malta. GRTU emphasized that we are basing ourselves on the interconnector but
this will not create jobs locally. Mr Gauci also made reference to the new
power stations and Ms Becker stated that these make little difference when it
comes to emissions. Her main point was that reaching emission targets is not
enough, we need to create green jobs as well. This has been sustained
constantly by GRTU when we emphasize that projects like the PV farm, which we
as GRTU are also promoting, should be managed by a wider organization that
would split the work generated by the investment between all qualified
installer so that everyone can reap the benefits instead of having a tender won
by one company.

Mr Gauci also went on to
make a number of suggestions in line with Eco Sustainability:

–    Having
charging points for electric vehicles installed across Malta and Gozo that
would encourage drivers to    purchase
electric vehicles.

–    Education
campaigns to encourage people to walk or cycle short distances rather than
using their car, along      with proper
safe cycle lanes.