Category: Archive – 2013

Il-GRTU
kitbet lill-Ministru ghat-Turizmu, l-Onorevoli Karmenu Vella ghan-nom
tas-sidien ta' restoranti li joperaw fil-Menqa f'Malsalforn, Ghawdex, fejn dawn
qed ihossuhom diskriminati fil-konfront ta' negozji ohra tal-istess generu
f'Ghawdex stess.

Dawn
is-sidien qeghdin jargumentaw illi filwaqt li r-restoranti taghhom ghandhom
linji gwida sa fejn ghandhom jitpoggew imwejjed u siggijiet fuq barra,
restoranti ohra ma ghandhomx ghalkemm l-permessi relattivi taghhom japlikaw sa
certu linja. Dan qieghed johloq pregudizzju fis-sens illi, ghad li hu evidenti
li hemm restoranti li qed  joltrapassaw il-linja tal-permess taghhom billi
johorgu mwejjed l-barra minn din l-istess linja, dan qieghed jigi njorat mill-awtoritajiet
kompetenti fejn dawn mhux qed jigu mwissija bl-ebda mod. Minn naha l-ohra min
rapporti li l-GRTU qeghda tircievi,  dawk kollha li qed jimxu skond
r-regolamenti mehtiega qed jkunu soggetti ghal sorverjanza strettissima.

Il-GRTU
taqbel li kulhadd ghandu jimxi mal-permess u li jirrispetta r-regoli kollha
mehtiega, izda mhux ghad-detriment ta' haddiehor fejn qieghed jithalla jikser
r-regolamenti. Il-GRTU talbet lill-Ministru
sabiex din l-problema tigi diskussa u jigu mfassla linji gwida ghal Ghawdex
kollu bit-tama li din s-sitwazzjoni tigi regolarizzata.

For
the past years, GRTU tried to find a solution with all concerned  to the problem that exists at The Marsaxlokk
Promenade. GRTU has now brought this issue to the attention of Mr Vincent
Cassar, Chairman, MEPA, asking for his intervention in the matter as another
summer is lost for restaurant owners namely from Bukkett Restaurant to Rizzu
Restaurant.

GRTU
insists that Government, in order to ensure a level playing field, should
proceed according to the proposed plan submitted to MEPA, and mathematically
calculate what size of stall will fit in the designated area when multiplied by
twenty one (21) Market Hawker Operators (daily market). GRTU can never accept
the arrogant attitude with which the Market Hawkers are addressing its members,
as well as the Marsaxlokk Local Council, when a suitable  solution has already been found.

GRTU
also cannot accept  the abusive imposition
by Market Hawkers of disproportionately and abusively operating from large
stall sizes which exceed the norm (1) contemplated by current legislation
regarding all open air markets that measure 2.5m by 6m except the market in
Merchant Street (Valletta) which measure 1.52m by 2.13m and not more than 2.44m
in height (Legal Notice 119 of 2002, as amended); and (2) the dimensions given
to Marsaxlokk Hawkers in their respective Market Hawkers Police Licenses.

Should
the stalls for the Market Hawkers in Marsaxlokk come close to these sizes, then
there would not be any issue regarding the Market Hawkers fitting comfortably
in the space earmarked on the plan submitted for the amendment of the Master
Plan.

GRTU
believes that this is the only fair and equitable solution. The current abuse,
with certain Market Hawker stalls exceeding 90 feet in length should never be
accepted by Government and the Local Council.

GRTU
insists that a level playing field for all must be sought, and that the
restaurants concerned will be allowed to place tables and chairs in accordance
with the submitted Plans, whilst Market Hawkers will be regulated with
appropriate interim stall-sizes.

GRTU
has also requested a meeting with MEPA 
with the aim to conclude this issue.

Il-Bord
tad-Diretturi tal-ETC f'Ghawdex u l-Estensjoni tal-Iskema Employment Aid
Programme (EAP) ghall-Imprizi f'Ghawdex – € 1.9 miljun ohra f'fondi tal-UE ghal Ghawdex – Ic-Cermen tal-ETC, Alfred
Grixti, beda biex ghamel analizi dettaljata tal-fondi tal-Unjoni Ewropea li
bbenefika minnhom sa issa Ghawdex fil-qasam tax-xoghol.

Is-Sur Grixti qal li
waqt li taht l-iskema Employment Aid Programme (EAP) intefqu € 13.65 miljun bejn
Malta u Ghawdex, Ghawdex wahdu ha € 3.1 miljun li jammontaw ghal 23% tal-fondi
kollha. Huwa f'dan il-kuntest li l-Managing Authority se talloka € 1.9 miljun
ohra biex din l-iskema tkun estiza ghas-sena 2014 ghall-gzira Ghawdxija biss.
Dan il-fond gdid ghal Ghawdex ser iservi ta' progett pilota
fis-simplifikazzjoni tat-thaddim tal-processi fir-rifuzjoni tal-fondi
lill-beneficjarji.

fl-Arka Respite Centre
f'Ghajnsielem saret ukoll laqgha ta' informazzjoni u t-tnedija tal-Estensjoni
tal-Iskema Employment Aid Programme (EAP) ghall-Imprendituri Ghawdxin u Imprizi
f'Ghawdex. Ghal din il-laqgha gew mistiedna l-Imprendituri Ghawdxin. Il-GRTU,
minn naha taghha infurmat lill-membri kollha taghha sabiex jattendu din
il-laqgha ta informazzjoni.

Il-Korporazzjoni tax-Xoghol u
Tahrig (ETC), f'din il-laqgha infurmat li ser testendi l-Iskema imsejha:
"Employment Aid Programme" biex tghin u tincentiva lil dawk l-Imprendituri
kollha li jkunu jridu jhaddmu impjegati godda maghhom fil-gzira Ghawdxija. Din
l-estensjoni ser tkun indirizzata u mmirata specifikament u esklussivament
ghall-Imprendituri Ghawdxin u Imprizi fil-Gzira Ghawdxija biss u hija
ko-finanzjata mill-Fond Socjali Ewropew (ESF). 
Waqt il-Laqgha gie spjegat kif ser tahdem din l-iskema. 

Meta tohrog din l-iskema, li
hija skedata li ser tohrog fil-futur qarib, il-GRTU ser tinforma formalment
il-Membri taghha kollha.

Investiment
gdid u air link f'Ghawdex

Inghataw dettalji dwar numru
ta' inizjattivi prattici li ser iwasslu ghal zieda t'impjiegi gewwa l-gzira
Ghawdxija, kemm minhabba inizjattivi w kordinazzjoni ta' l-istess ETC u kif
ukoll minhabba sinergija diretta mas-settur privat.  Apparti l-fatt li l ETC ghaddejja mir
ristrutturar necessarju sabiex ittejjeb is-servizzi taghha u talloka xoghol
amministrattiv taghha fil gzira Ghawdxija, l-ETC hija wkoll involuta b'mod
dirett f'tahdidiet ma' investituri Maltin u barranin, li qieghdin fi stadi
varji tínvestiment gewwa Ghawdex.  Fost
dawn l-investituri hemm kumpanija diga stabbilita f'Malta li tispecjalizza
fis-settur ta'l-informatika li, permezz tal-investiment taghha f'Ghawdex,
fil-futur qarib ser tkun qed tohloq ‘l fuq minn mitt impjieg gdid gewwa
Ghawdex.  Is-Sur Grixti informa lill-Bord
ukoll illi ghadhom kemm bdew tahdidiet ma' kumpanija barranija li hija nteressata
ferm li toffri servizz ta' transport bl-ajru bejn Ghawdex u Malta, u Ghawdex u
Sqallija.  Dawn l-inizjattivi ifissru
holqien dirett ta' impjiegi godda fil-gzira Ghawdxija.

 

Il-Ministeru għal Għawdex se jorganizza servizz b’xejn tal-Gozo Channel fit-tielet ġimgħa ta’ Novembru 2013, jiġifieri mit-15 sas-17 ta’ Novembru 2013.

Is-servizz ser ikun b’xejn għal kulħadd, jiġifieri għall-passiġġieri u l-vetturi tagħhom għajr għal vetturi kummerċjali u x-xufier tagħhom – mill-Ġimgħa fis-7.30pm sat-Tnejn fis-1.15am.

 

 

 

 

Barra minn hekk, il-Ministeru qed iħeġġeġ lil-lukandiera u lis-sidien tal-farmhouses membri tagħna biex lit-tfal taħt it-13-il sena jraqqduhom b’xejn.

Għaldaqstant, inthom mitluba tikkuntatjaw lil Joanna Mifsud fuq 99845924 jew 21228843 jekk inthom interessati li tipparteċipaw f’din l-inizjattiva sa mhux aktar tard mill-15 ta’ Settembru.

Wara, aħna, bħala GRTU, ngħaddu l-lista tal-parteċipanti lill-Ministeru għal Għawdex u il-lista ta’ l-ismijiet tan-negozji bl-iskonti li tkunu qed toffru tiġi ppubblikata fix xandir.

Green MT, the National Authorised Packaging Waste
Compliance Scheme, a fully owned subsidiary of GRTU, continues in its role to
help Associations within Local Councils to achieve their goals.
During Marsascala Day held last Sunday, Green
MT CEO Joe Attard, presented a payment to Marsascala Aquatic Sports Club to
cover part of a state-of-the-art safety barrier around the waterpolo pitch.

Whilst presenting this payment in front of
Marsascala Major Mr. Mario Calleja, Green MT CEO stated that Marsascala, albeit
a large locality continues to increase its collection of recyclable material
through both the grey bag and also its numerous bring-in-sites. He further
stated that through excess tonnage collected the Local Council instructed Green
MT to install 63 street benches over the last two years. The benches are made
from recyclable material.

Green MT also thanked the Marsascala Local
Council and its residents for the continuous cooperation despite the problems
that occur daily.

GRTU Malta Chamber of SMEs, welcomes the new
initiatives launched earlier on this week by the Malta Freeport. Mr Paul Abela,
President, on behalf of GRTU members would like to thank Malta Freeport
Officials for taking on board most of GRTU's proposals during meetings held
with the aim to continuously step up the services being offered to the local
businesses.

As from Monday 9th September GRTU members will
be benefiting from the following initiatives:

Delivery Gate Extended Operating Times

After a detailed survey was carried out by
Malta Freeport over the past months involving all key players within the
domestic market, Malta Freeport will be extending its operating times as
follows:

From Monday to Friday:

MFT Delivery Gate will open from 06:30 hrs to 17:45
hrs

MFT Delivery Gate will not close
for break-time

 

On Saturdays:

MFT Delivery Gate opening times
will remain unchanged i.e. 08:00 hrs to 11:30 hrs

 

Customers will still have the possibility to send a
request for the release of urgent containers during the remaining hours as per
procedures already in place.

Community Portal

Also from Monday 9th September, Malta Freeport will be
launching the ‘Community Portal'.  The
information in this portal can be accessed without the use of a password but
simply by keying in the container number being queried. This service is being
offered following last year's successful implementation of Malta Freeport's
‘web portal'.

The information provided through the ‘Community
Portal' will ably assist the local and international business community
particularly the end consumers of Malta Freeport as it will be providing them
with on-line container tracking information. The Portal will also be providing
the community with updated real-time vessel operations schedule, a function
widely requested by clients. The tool will also provide transparent and easily
available information to end clients which will reduce administration
processes.

Operations at Main Gate

GRTU is also pleased that Malta
Freeport has embarked on an ambitious project to increase efficiency in its
gate operations to reduce as much as possible the paperwork related to its Main
Gate operations. The work undertaken to-date is already reaching the required
positive results. The discussions held with the various stakeholders have
already led to notable enhancements in the operational processes. Malta
Freeport is sustaining its resources in this project to ensure that further
remarkable results will be witnessed over the coming months.

The rules
concerning the protection, composition and labelling of fruit juices and
certain similar products within the Union, should be adapted to technical
progress and should, as far as possible, take account of developments in
relevant international standards. 

Indeed, the Codex General Standard, adapted in 2005, establishes quality
factors and labelling requirements for fruit juices and nectars. Without
prejudice to Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 20 March 2000, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs, it is necessary
to amend the specific provisions of Directive 2001/112/EC  to reflect the new rules on authorised
ingredients. For example, added sugars should continue to be labelled in
accordance with Directive 2000/13/EC.

The nutrition claim ‘with no added
sugars', as listed in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, has been used
in relation to fruit juices for quite a long time. Yet, due to its
disappearance after a transitional period, an immediate clear distinction might
not be made between fruit juices and other drinks in terms of the addition of
sugars in the products resulting in certain harm to the fruit juices sector.

In order to
enable the industry to inform consumers properly, it should be possible to use,
for a limited time, a statement indicating that no fruit juices contain added
sugars.

With
regards to economic operators, it is necessary to establish appropriate
transitional measures. Hence, this Directive should provide that those products
may continue to be marketed for a limited time beyond the transposition period.

Comments
are to reach the Technical Regulations Division by Thursday 19 September 2013,
using the following contact details on .

 

 

 

GRTU has since the begining of July
2008, visited Gozo twice a week to discuss with its members their needs and the
problems they face on a daily concern. GRTU is today also holding bi-weekly
meetings with the Ministry for Gozo.

Mr Frank Psaila and Mr Micheal Buhagiar
are our direct contacts at the Ministry and we are together working hard to
eliminate problems that have been ingrained in Gozo over the last years.

This work is being aptly handled
in Gozo by our representative Ms Joanne Mifsud. She is responsible for GRTU
Gozitan Enterprise Support including their membership within GRTU and Green MT.
Joanne is also present for meetings held with Local Councils in Gozo on a
weekly basis. Her working schedule keeps her in Gozo every Thursday and Friday
so that on these days GRTU can serve the business community in Gozo directly,
is more reachable and accessible.

Over the
last two months we have had a substantial amount of meetings with individual
members of the Business community in Gozo. From these meetings a number of
issues were brought up, namely the following:

The lack of business in the off shoulder
months, and related ideas of how this can be mitigated

The lack of employment opportunites and
identifying how this can improve

The improvement of transportation
between Malta and Gozo, namely Gozo Channel issues but also other innovative
ideas, including a priority boarding lane at an addittional fee.

The lack of a solution in relation to
‘Open Storage facilities', an issue which has now been lingering for a number
of years

The lack of home accompanied support for
the ever growing ageing population in Gozo. A situation that could lead to a
substantial number of part time jobs in the care industry.

Adequate parking spaces in Victoria for
visitors, and the proposed solutions

 The lack of providing factory space for
Gozitans who are employing people in an SME and would like to increase their
business and thus increase their workforce in Gozo with Gozo based personnell.

Gozo Free travel weekend for visitors in
Mid November. GRTU is inviting its members to participate fully in this event
by providing discounts to the visitors crossing from Malta to our sister
island. From accomodation to the
catering establishments, together we need to make sure that this is a success
story which would remain in the yearly calendar always.

The issue of lack of business in the
shoulder months in Gozo has also brought about a suggestion from the business
community which we are sure would bolster substantially the shoulder months. We
are recommending that from January to March, Gozo Channel charge the Maltese
crossing to Gozo the same fares as Gozitans, so there would be just one fare
for both cars and individuals for those three shoulder months. This would
increase business and also employment levels accordingly. It is very worrying
to have to terminate someone's job because of seasonality, and more in Gozo
where there is an ongoing brain drain in many sectors.

Coming Tuesday 3rd September, GRTU will
hold a meeting for the Business Community with respect to EU proposed funding
for the years 2014 to 2020. This important meeting will be held at the NGO
office in Xewkija at 2pm. The meeting will be addressed by GRTU's EU Desk. GRTU
would like to hear your views about the proposals Government is putting on the
table, which once submitted to the community for approval later this year, will
form an intrinsic part of the funding for the years to come until 2020.  We look forward to meeting you there.

GRTU has beefed up its drive in Gozo to
support the Business Community. We want to make sure that Gozo reaps the
benefits of any funding or schemes available in Malta. We want to make sure
that together with the Ministry we work hand in hand to create new jobs for
SMEs. We want to make sure that we reduce the brain drain leaving the island
whilst sustaining development with respect to the environment. GRTU is in Gozo
to serve you better.

Our Gozo representative Joanna Mifsud
can be contacted on 99845324.

GRTU, as the
only national organization that has a strong representation in all of the
localities in Malta and Gozo, has written to the Government with its position
on the CVA and Parking Schemes.

GRTU
stated it gives the utmost importance to economic activities in the
localities.  GRTU enjoys an excellent relationship with the association of
Local Councils and with individual Local Councils. Together, currently, we do
our utmost to facilitate better traffic management, project building and action
that enhances the viability of private services in the Community. This is the
prime reason as to why GRTU gives the utmost importance to the potential
economic benefits our localities can generate.

CVA and parking in Valletta

GRTU has
held various meetings to discuss the issue of the CVA and parking in Valletta
with Hon Joe Mizzi, Hon Christian Cardona and the  Chairman of Transport Malta.

The CVA
launched in 2007, has been introduced because parking spaces were previously
all taken up in early morning by employees who work in the capital, leaving
hardly any room for shop owners or people who wanted to do shopping and other
errands.

GRTU is in favour of timed-controlled parking in
Valletta, especially during peak hours, due to the limited number of parking
spaces available. It also emphasised that it has long been in favour of a
capital project for underground parking, stating that Valletta will not be able
to get back on its feet unless there is a turnaround on the parking issue.

CVA did not
fail because it was technically wrong or because of a lack of parking meters,
but because of the rushed implementation of the system by the government and
the Valletta Local Council. GRTU insists that the controlled vehicular access
(CVA) system in Valletta should remain and that its administration should be
improved.

It is not acceptable for MPs and Ministers to take up a substantial
number of parking spaces without paying their dues to Transport Malta, pointing
out that at this age, it was easy to park outside the city and call a driver
using a mobile phone. GRTU also proposed that MPs should be offered free battery
run taxi service from reserved car parks outside the city.

Anyone who seeks to organise an activity in Valletta  even high authorities  should be made to pay for the parking spaces
which are taken up as a result, adding that the same situation should apply in
the case of other permits which involve the loss of parking spaces. Reserved
parking without exception, including residents' 
must go.

CVA system's operation in the afternoons is unnecessary and
that during the morning peaks, rationing and turnover of available parking
spaces must remain under one method or another and against payment and subject
to time limit.

The association is surprised 
to see teachers exempted from CVA charges together with street

hawkers and MPs to the detriment of business owners,
professionals and other workers based in Valletta.

Parking Schemes

GRTU is informed that for the time being Residential Parking
Schemes are on hold and that other solutions would have to be explored to
address the parking problem.

Studies are at present being carried out by Transport Malta
and they were sparked by the controversy which led the government to suspend a
parking scheme which Sliema Council had intended to introduce.

St Paul's Bay Council and Naxxar Local Council were also
stopped from introducing residents' parking.

GRTU believes that given the multiplicity of problems caused
by excessive road transport and the over utilization of Localities, Government
should launch attractive incentives so that more work and enterprise is generated
in the Localities.

Government needs to create incentives so that work in
Localities is strengthened, spending is done in one's own locality and the
locality attracts tourist and other activity, which makes the locality more
sustainable. 

This will strengthen employment and relieve environmental problems and
facilitate the employment of women. Women, especially those with children, most
times can dedicate only a reduced working day. The closer the job is to the
household the lesser time is spent on travelling. 

GRTU is
proposing that each Local Council establishes a Core Consultation Group which
will meet on a monthly basis minimum to discuss proactively, projects and
incentives in the Locality with a view to minimise problems at implementation
stage of projects of whatever nature. Experience has shown that plenty of time
is currently being wasted on unnecessary reactive meetings which most times
create antagonism between parties involved at Local Council Level.

GRTU proposes
that financial Awards will be given to Local Councils who prove successful in
the introduction of projects that support enterprises and economic growth in
their locality.  A Local Authority Business Growth Incentive (LABGI)
package should be designed in consultation with GRTU and the Local Councils
Association so that Local Councils will benefit on their initiatives in favour
of economic sustainability of the locality.

GRTU
specifically wants to see an extension of tourism to reach also the Localities.
Other services in the localities such as Cafés, B&B and Restaurants and
many retailers will benefit if tourists accommodation spreads from the
traditional tourists areas to the localities. The spread of tourists amongst
Malta's localities will ease the increasing pressure on the infrastructure.

Host Families
for instance are a valuable resource. These are dedicated individuals who open
their homes to total strangers and welcome them and do their best to provide
cheap lodging at a good standard while providing the experience of the Maltese
way of living. The GRTU knows of minor shortcomings in the sector however the
whole cannot be made to suffer for it.

GRTU therefore
proposes to further incentivise the sector and help it become more competitive.
The hotel industry and the host family sector are currently in competition and
we think that it is only fair that they compete under the same rules. 

Transport Malta
needs to work more to ameliorate the new public transport system and to create
more awareness as to how the public transport is operating. The aim is that
this reform will become more convenient and hence car owners will distance
themselves from the traditional form of transport and start using public
transport once again especially during working hours. GRTU proposes that all
stakeholders will participate in the discussions, namely Local Councils, GRTU
and Transport Malta.

Conclusions

CVA: The GRTU, is
at present consulting all business operators in Valletta to arrive at the best
advice it can give to the government about the controlled vehicular access
(CVA) to the capital. It transpires that the system is not giving good results
as it has been operated wrongly and there is widespread dissatisfaction with
it.

This situation is not only
detrimental to the government but also to Valletta's commercial sector, as
every lost parking space means a loss of trade. GRTU insists that the city
deserves serious traffic and parking management and that underground parking
should be taken into consideration. There is scope also for investment in the
open spaces in the ditches and in lifts to the city. GRTU has also asked
government to reconsider fresh negotiations regarding the Floriana  park and ride, as this could be an asset to
the parking problem we have in the Capital City.

The argument is not about the system, but about how the CVA
is operated. The worst thing that can happen, is to remove what is ultimately a
good system, even though it has been administered in a very loose manner, and
introduce a free-for-all, or revert to requiring a special car licence to enter
Valletta.

Parking Schemes: Utilisation of funds from the Commuted Parking Payment Scheme to provide
adequate parking facilities close to town and village cores as these will
facilitate more business support to the shopping centres in city cores. Few
towns and villages can support the wide range of retail and other services
provided in city cores if traffic and parking management does not facilitate
the use of these services by other customers who do not reach the centre on
foot or by bus.

Additional
capital grants to Local Councils to encourage the promotion of private parking
facilities to service clients utilizing the new or the extended enterprises in
the city core.

Reduced rates of withholding tax on
property developed by private investors for parking complexes that service the
community.