Category: Articles

The training will be offered free of charge and aims to contribute to wider efforts in Malta, and internationally, to put a halt to the heinous crimes associated with modern slavery and human trafficking

Funded by the British High Commission, Kopin is providing Maltese businesses with a one-off short virtual training on how they can help fight forms of modern slavery, including human trafficking, in their everyday work.

Evidenced by reports such as ‘Trafficking in Persons’ (TIP) and accounts by victims and survivors, such as the one which we had published last year, modern forms of slavery and human trafficking flourish world-wide, including in Malta.

“BAMS: Businesses Against Modern Slavery” is a continuation of Kopin in its fight against modern slavery and human trafficking (MSHT) and follows up on its project ‘REST THB’.

The training will be offered free of charge and aims to contribute to wider efforts in Malta, and internationally, to put a halt to the heinous crimes associated with modern slavery and human trafficking.

As part of the training, Kopin will encourage companies to sign a Code of Conduct against Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.

If your company is generally interested in such training, please take just five minutes and fill in this questionnaire. Filling in the questionnaire will be considered simply as an expression of interest and does not constitute a commitment from your end. 

The training will be offered free of charge and on a first-come-first-served basis, and HR Managers are particularly encouraged to attend.

The employer organisations warned that an ageing work force across the European Union will present a challenge in Malta in the coming years

The Malta Employers’ Association, The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, the Malta Chamber of SMEs, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and the Gozo Business Chamber are calling on government to put an immediate halt on the drain of human resources from the private sector, to be employed in the public sector including state appointed bodies.

More and more members of these organisations are voicing their concern about employees who resign haphazardly to take up what is perceived to be a more secure job with less work pressure in government entities. Some companies are having to reduce their operations as a result of a shortage of manpower. Many have to resort to replacing Maltese employees lost to the public sector with other nationalities. This is changing the distribution of the labour force, as government is employing a greater percentage of the Maltese labour force, with companies compensating for labour shortfalls by engaging more foreign labour. The business organisations stated that they are convinced that, in many cases, there is no real need for these persons in the public sector. It must be borne in mind that public sector employment is financed by the output and taxes generated by entrepreneurs and their employees, and depleting the private sector of human resources will spell trouble even for tax revenue generation.

The employer organisations warned that an ageing work force across the European Union will present a challenge in Malta in the coming years, as countries will compete for the younger cohort. This is all the more reason why government should not make the situation worse, simply for political expediency. Human resources in Malta are scarce and limited, and therefore cannot be squandered in this manner. To make matters worse, many companies are also complaining about the difficulties they still encounter in employing third country nationals, including cases of repatriation of workers who have been working here regularly for years. The economy can only progress by upskilling the local labour force and channelling it into productive use, both in the private and public sector.

Members believe that the license associated should be further promoted and the value added associated with being a licensed service provider

The Malta Chamber of SMEs together with the committee representing licensed education service providers held an introductory meeting with the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority.

The meeting aimed to raise a number of issues encountered by members. During the meeting both parties acknowledged the difficulties and issues in place especially the lack of resources available to process accreditation applications. Members also acknowledged improvements especially on the fact that the authority seems to be moving towards becoming more open for discussion and consultation especially through the advisory committee and an open working relationship with the SME Chamber.

Members believe that the license associated should be further promoted and the value added associated with being a licensed service provider. This should include tax incentives and other benefits which would add value to the license acquired, which normally involves a number of license and audit fees.

During the meeting it was also noted that both parties should also work together and address issues in the educational institutions e.g. present issues related to TCN VISAs jointly and to ensure that stipends for students taking up a full-time course with a private institution should also be offered and guaranteed.

Members also presented a number of issues related with time-frames, accountability, the proportionality of fines and penalties imposed, the need for a more transparent process with the processing of applications and the need for an adequate client support structure.

Finally, it was agreed that the both the SME Chamber, through its dedicated sub-committee and MFHEA, should continue to keep a close contact in order to ensure that issues encountered are dealt with as early as possible and also to ensure that this important sector continues to grow, while ensuring that quality across the sector is maintained.

In a recent survey conducted by members, the Malta Chamber of SMEs sought to understand what the investment priorities of businesses are and how far does sustainability and digitalisation feature in these plans. 

66% of respondents confirm that they look at their business differently since Covid started. Building business resilience and protecting businesses against shocks is now something these businesses are actively considering in their business planning. 23% have however answered that Covid did not change their approach to their business and the remaining respondents are still unsure about this. 

Delving a little bit deeper, the SME Chamber sought to understand how these business have a different outlook. 72% of respondents identified their main interest in reducing running costs through lower use of resources and operating in a more sustainable manner. The second highest selection with 53% was for their business to be more digital.   

Most businesses, 41%, are currently implementing investments, while 24% have no investments planned at the moment. The relevance of sustainability and digitalisation ranks high for business investment priorities. In terms of how capable do businesses feel in implementing such investments, which one may term as sophisticated and non-standard for many businesses, most businesses do feel that they are quite capable. They do however acknowledge that they might need external assistance to help them implement such projects successfully.  

The term ‘sustainability’ is somewhat non-standard because it is applied to different approaches. In terms of understanding this term and appreciating it, most businesses acknowledge that sustainability is good for business and good for the environment at 57%. 45% chose that sustainability leads to cost reduction and greater profits, followed by an understanding that all businesses can operate sustainably with 40%, 27% believe that it is all about research, sound advice and planning. 17% of respondents associate grants and funding opportunities with sustainability.   

The replies show a very positive trend in business which will certainly boost recovery. 

Click here to view full results.

The issues mainly relate with the proof of the country of origin and the documentation being requested

The Malta Chamber of SMEs has held a meeting with the Commissioner for Economic, Financial and Trade Relations with the United Kingdom, Dr. Mario Vella and Customs officials over a number of issues being encountered as a result of BREXIT.

The issues mainly relate with the proof of the country of origin and the documentation being requested. Members across the board have reached out to the SME Chamber, on the lengthy bureaucratic process to declare items imported from the UK and the costs involved in the process.

Members also mentioned that, the process involves dealing with a number of different entities that in most instances request different forms and documentation which is not always possible to source from the manufacturer / exporter in the UK. This is leading to a lengthier process which in instances is not possible given the short shelf life with the case of food items, which normally can only be sourced from the UK.

Members have lambasted on the fact that this is leading towards higher costs and in most instances a clear discrimination with goods originating in the EU but imported from the UK, since in failure to prove the country of origin normally leads towards businesses having to pay both VAT and Duty on goods originating from the EU.  Additionally, the process normally involves the engagement of additional customs officials which leads to bigger costs.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs, will continue to engage in discussions with different entities, including customs and the port health directorate in order to ensure that issues encountered, leading to lengthier processes are reduced as much as possible.

Members, encountering issues, are encouraged to get in touch with the Malta Chamber of SMEs via email on or phone on 21232881.

We’ve put together together a guide with Malta’s Black Friday offers

November has become a month for celebration thanks to Black Friday, for businesses and consumers alike.

Black Friday was this year launched with the support of Hon Silvio Schembri, Minister for the Economy and Industry. The Ministry and the Chamber of SMEs came together to highlight the opportunities at local level, where the offers available from all the different sectors, the service, the shopping experience and the convenience of proximity makes shopping local very attractive.

This was the first step of the Chamber of SMEs’ Black Friday campaign to boost shopping local. Once again a guide was put together in order to give consumers the chance to plan ahead and make the most out of this special period of sales.

The guide is accessible here.

The campaign continues with a number of TV appearances and media coverage in relation to the campaign.

This conference was organised by funds from the EEA Grants and Norway Grants

The Malta Chamber of SMEs organised a conference entitled “The new world of Work and Employment – Fostering improved working relations for micro and Small businesses”.

The conference had close to 100 registrants for this conference and commenced by a brief introduction from the Malta Chamber of SMEs CEO Ms Abigail Agius Mamo.

this was followed by a presentation from Fenech and Fenech Advocates, the oldest law firm in Malta. The presentation was conducted by Dr. Paul Gonzi partner at Fenech & Fenech Advocates specialising in Employment Law, Data Protection and TMT Law, Dr. Rebecca Diacono Senior Associate working within the Tax & Immigration Law Department of Fenech & Fenech Advocates, Dr. Mattea Pullicino, Associate at Fenech & Fenech Advocates working with the firm’s International Practice department & Dr. Thomas Bugeja, Senior Associate within the International Practice department at Fenech & Fenech Advocates.

After a short coffee break, the conference resumed by a panel discussion with the main speakers being Mr. Felix Borg, Head of Division at JobsPlus, Mr. Anton Sevasta, CEO at Identity Malta, Mr. Marcel Cassar, CEO APS Bank PLC, Dr. Paul Gonzi – Partner at Fenech and Fenech and Moderated by Mr. Lawrence Zammit – MISCO Consulting.

A conference funded by the EEA Grants and Norway Grants

The Malta Chamber of SMEs organised a conference entitled “The new world of Work and Employment – Fostering improved working relations for micro and Small businesses” aimed at giving participant a legal overview of how employers should position themselves in the light of how the place of work has changed since the start of Covid.

The conference which had an attendance of close to 100 participants, tackled issues related to employee shortages and sourcing of TCNs.

This conference was organised by funds from the EEA Grants and Norway Grants.