Category: Archive – 2013

GREEN MT is for the second year
running collecting recyclable packaging waste from Bahar ic-Caghaq Caravan Site
limits of Naxxar. All 220 families residing at the caravan site
have been provided with a ‘ Bag for Life' so that it can be used to collect
recyclables and deliver to four sets of bring in sites for separated waste,
also provided by the scheme.

Earlier this week Eco Councillors visited
residents and distributed these bags and also provided literature underlining
where each material should be deposited.

GREEN MT, the National Authorised Waste Packaging
Compliance Scheme continues to lead the way in such initiatives, which although
costly, are the future best practice at community level.

Agreement to recover such materials at at
source from Bahar ic-Caghaq Caravan Site was reached after discussions with Mr
Vince Perry, cairman of the Bahar ic-Caghaq Caravan Site.

In addition, GREEN MT also effected a clean up
of the area on 15^th June. The clean up was effected by Birkirkara 1^st Scout Group
ably led by leader Caroline Borg.

Nhar il-Ħamis 20 ta' Ġunju l-Kunsill Lokali Naxxar
sejjaħ laqgħa għas-sidien tan-negozji fin-Naxxar.  L-iskop ta' din il-laqgħa kien biex ikunu
diskussi suġġerimenti li jwasslu biex ikun hemm koperazzjoni akbar bejn
il-Kunsill u s-settur tan-negozju kif ukoll biex tikber l-ekonomija lokali.

Fil-ftuħ tal-laqgħa s-Sindku Dott. Maria
Deguara  ħeġġet biex ikun hemm aktar
komunikazzjoni bejn iż-żewġ partijiet biex il-Kunsill ikun aktar konxju
tal-ħtiġijiet tan-negozjanti.  Hija
appellat biex kulħadd jagħti s-sehem tiegħu ħalli l-ambjent tan-Naxxar
jissebbaħ.  Hija tat diversi suġġerimenti
ta' inizjattivi li wieħed jista' jieħu dwar dan bħalma huma tisbieħ tal-faċċati
u l-bankini bil-fjuri.  B'dan mhux biss
jissebbaħ il-lokal iżda jattira aktar nies u klijenti għall-istess
negozji.  Ir-riżorsi huma limitati għal
kulħadd iżda, jekk il-piż jinqasam, igawdi kulħadd, qalet is-Sindku Deguara.

Is-Sindku imbagħad esprimiet ix-xewqa li jkun
iffurmat kumitat mill-komunità kummerċjali biex jiffaċilita l-komunikazzjoni
bejn iż-żewġ partijiet.

Tkellmet ukoll il-Viċi Sindku Anne Marie Muscat
Fenech Adami li għandha r-responsabbiltà tan-negozji tan-Naxxar.  Hija saħqet li mhux bilfors ikun hemm qbil
fuq kollox iżda wieħed irid ifittex dak li jqarreb lil xulxin biex finalment
kulħadd jirbaħ.

Il-Viċi Sindku Muscat Fenech Adami elenkat xi
ħsibijiet li għandu l-Kunsill li iżda xtaqet li jkunu diskussi f'aktar dettall
flimkien għaliex ma kinitx l-intenzjoni tal-Kunsill li jimponi iżda li dak li
jagħmel ikun aċċettabbli u bi qbil man-negozjanti.

Fost l-inizjattivi li semmiet hemm voucher book
biex jitqassam man-Naxxarin, BiżNiss (id-direttorju tan-negozji li ġie
ppublikat dan l-aħħar) fuq website u application għal-fuq smart phones, tabelli
ta' direzzjoni b'uniformità u korsijiet u sessjonijiet ta' informazzjoni.

Preżenti għal-laqgħa kien hemm ukoll is-Sinj.
Carmen Borg f'isem il-GRTU.  Hija
esprimiet is-sodisfazzjon tagħha li saret din il-laqgħa u faħħret lill-Kunsill
Lokali Naxxar għall-inizjattivi li jieħu favur is-settur tan-negozju.  Hija appellat biex anki s-settur tan-negozju
jagħmel il-parti tiegħu.  Is-Sinj. Borg
semmiet li, fi stħarriġ li għamlet il-GRTU fi żmien il-Milied, ħareġ li
l-Kunsill tan-Naxxar huwa l-unika Kunsill f'Malta li joħroġ l-ispejjeż kollha
tat-tiżjin tal-Milied waħdu. 
Għall-kuntrarju, fil-lokalitajiet l-oħra kollha l-komunità kummerċjali toħroġ
is-sehem tagħha.

Is-Sinj. Borg faħħret ukoll inizjattivi li hemm
maħsuba mill-Kunsill biex flimkien jissebbaħ l-ambjent u li l-Kunsill huwa
kommess li jisma u jiddiskuti.  Hija tat
informazzjoni wkoll fuq is-servizzi offruti mill-GRTU b'mod partikulari bħala
aġenzija EuropeDirect.

Preżenti kien hemm ukoll is-Segretarju
Eżekuttiv tal-Kunsill, is-Sur Paul Gatt fejn wieġeb għal xi mistoqsijiet li
saru min-negozjanti.

CD Power
Solutions Co Ltd – Bajada New
Energy Ltd – Solar Solutions
Ltd – BT Commercial – Alberta Fire
& Security – Renergy Ltd – Wurth Ltd – Prime Solar
(Malta) Ltd – Frank Borda Ltd – Panta Marketing
& Services Ltd – Solar Engineering Ltd – International
Sales Direct – Eco Save Ltd – Titan
International Ltd

In the EU27, participants in vocational training
courses spent on average 25 hours each on training in 2010, an amount which
varied significantly between Member States, ranging from 14 hours per participant
in the Czech Republic and 15 hours in Latvia to 42 hours in Portugal and 40
hours in Malta, second highest in the EU. As regards costs, vocational training courses
accounted for 0.8% of total labour costs of all enterprises in the EU27 in
2010, varying from 0.4% in Italy, Latvia and Romania to 1.5% in France and 1.4%
in Malta, second highest in the EU.

Among those enterprises providing vocational training
in the EU27 in 2010, almost half (48%) of their employees participated in such
training. The highest proportions of employees participating were observed in
the Czech Republic (72% of all employees in enterprises providing training),
Slovenia (62%), Luxembourg (60%) and Slovakia (58%), and the lowest in Hungary
(27%), Lithuania (31%), Austria and the United Kingdom (both 37%). In the EU27,
a slightly higher proportion of employees in large enterprises (49% of
employees) do training than in medium-sized enterprises (45%) and small
enterprises (46%).

Two thirds of enterprises in the EU27 provided
vocational training in 2010 – Continuous Vocational Training (CVT) corresponds to
training during working-time or paid at least partially by the employer (for
instance evening courses).

In the EU27, two thirds (66%) of all enterprises with ten
or more employees provided vocational training to their staff in 2010, compared
with 60% in 2005. The highest proportions of enterprises providing training
were observed in Austria and Sweden (both 87%) the United Kingdom (80%), the
Netherlands (79%), Belgium (78%) and France (76%), and the lowest in Poland
(23%), Romania (24%), Bulgaria (31%), Latvia (40%) and Hungary (49%). Malta
ranked at 54%

These data, published by Eurostat, the statistical
office of the European Union, come from the Continuing Vocational Training
Survey (CVTS), which is carried out every five years.

The EU has made recent progress in fine-tuning its
Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), an incentive scheme lowering tariff to
encourage more imports from poorer developing countries. Whilst EuroCommerce
has been informed that recent accidents in Bangladesh will not endanger their
preferential status in 2013, this may change in 2014 should the country fail to
demonstrate sufficient progress in protecting its workers.

The European Commission has adopted a comprehensive
package to step up its fight against illicit tobacco trade, especially
cigarette smuggling. The illicit tobacco trade is a global threat depriving
Member States and the EU of over €10 billion revenue every year in terms of
unpaid taxes and duties.

Despite record unemployment in Europe, 1.7 million
vacancies are unfilled in the EU. This is one of the main findings of the
European Vacancy Monitor published by the European Commission. The report shows
that both employment and hiring are increasing in the areas of administration,
teaching, business, health care as well as engineering. However, the number of
unfilled vacancies is 4% lower than at the same period last year.