Category: Archive – 2012

PEGASE
is a project promoted by UEAPME to enhance the
participation of SME organisations in
the European Social Dialogue. The second PEGASE European Social
Dialogue session was held on the 12/13 June with the theme Preparing the European Social Dialogue for Small Micro Enterprises.

Ms.
Lilian Volozinskis UEAPME Social Affairs director welcomed the group and gave a
brief background of the last session and hi-lighted the main objectives of this
session. First we discussed a study on the preconditions for forming business
interest associations for SMEs and their status regarding the social dialogue.
It resulted that in the current business environment SMEs are finding it very
difficult to self organize and be sustainable. Hence the need for external
support from the government or Big Business Organizations (BBOs) is imperative.
Nevertheless, the existence of influential SME organizations remains essential
to: respect democracy, be able to participate as full partners in Social
Dialogue at all levels and to guarantee their autonomy.

Ms. Helen Hoffman, UEAPME
Advisor for Social Affairs, and Mr Blando Palmieri from Academy Avignon presented
findings of a follow up questionnaire sent to members regarding the state of
play of Social Dialogue in the 9 countries and the respective SME
organizations. It was evident that the direct participation of SME Organisation
in collective bargaining is not on the same level in each country. In fact only
2 out of the 9 representing countries of the Pegase project, HUP in Croatia and
AECSS in Slovenia, are negotiating collective agreements. Other countries such
as Malta, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Turkey do not
participate directly in collective bargaining at national or sectoral level.
Collective agreements are not legally binding for SMEs in Czeck Rep. and in
Poland. On the other hand they are legally binding for SMEs in Malta, Estonia
and Slovenia. In view of the weak participation of SMEs in collective
bargaining and in bi-partite social dialogue it was recommended to better pool
resources on a larger scale and making links at sectorial and territorial
social dialogue levels.

Ms Doboszynska from ZRP
presented the successful use of the European Social Fund for capacity building
in Poland. She hi-lighted that their success in tapping such an opportunity
(European Social Fund) was due to the solid legal basis and status of ZRP as
social partner.

Ms Willems outlined the
different projects being carried out by Unizo in supporting the development of
SME organizations in new member states and candidate countries. SMEs could  benefit from increased co-operation among
sister organizations, including cross-border, as well as exchange of
knowledge  and good practices on how to
attract new members and increase representativeness through the development of
tailor made services for members.

The last session concerned a
presentation on the Pegase website and newsletter. The new website also
includes a "members only section" where members can browse the latest
information in line with the European Social Dialogue network. In conclusion Ms
Volozinskis hi-lighted the need to reflect on the opportunities that the Pegase
network activities are creating for the member organizations and the
possibility of their continuation.

MEPs
have voted to reject the controversial Acta designed to provide better global
protection for intellectual property. This
means it is unlikely the EU will approve the treaty in its current form, and
means that it is doubtful that the agreement, which the US strongly supports,
will ever come into force.

This
is the first time the European parliament has used its Lisbon treaty powers to
reject an international trade agreement, but the commission could still push
for a revival of Acta if it secures a court decision in its favour.

MEPs
voted 478 against, 39 in favour, with 165 abstentions, amid fears that the
treaty could be used to restrict internet freedom leading to the mobilisation
of broad support across Europe, including protests across a number of cities.
Parliament president Martin Schulz said that the vote against Acta was not a
vote against the protection of intellectual property, saying the rejection
stemmed from the treaty being "too vague, leaving room for abuses".

Anti-Acta
campaigners, who secured 2.8 million signatures for an online petition to
reject the law, have called the decision a victory for European democracy and
civil society. Anti-Acta activists had complained that negotiations for the
treaty had taken place largely behind closed doors, with leaked drafts being
the only real access the public had to the text of the agreement, reports the
Telegraph.

The
commission is still waiting for a European court decision on Acta's legality,
but the court's ruling is unlikely to make a difference, with Brussels
officials reportedly already working on an EU intellectual property rights
enforcement directive.

President Paul Abela attended a
business breakfast organized by the Ministry of Finance, Economy and Investment
focusing on Pre-Budget Proposals for the coming Budget.

During his intervention Mr Abela thanked
Minister Fenech and his team for the provision of Schemes for SMEs, which were
instrumental given the current financial situation to surpass better than their
EU counterparts, and also for finding a solution to the Air Malta current
situation. The acceptance by the Commission of Air Malta's re structuring
proposal paved a better future for its sustainability.

However Mr Abela pointed out that the road
infrastructure upgrade in Gozo has taken a particular negative toll on
businesses and accordingly asked the Minister to consider schemes which could
bolster the business community in Gozo in order to make up for losses incurred
during the infrastructure upgrade and make businesses in Gozo more sustainable.

Mr Abela also stated that the up and coming
Loan Guarantee Scheme had to guarantee 90% of the funds required by SMEs. This
is imperative if the Scheme is to be a success.

This
week President Paul Abela has attended the UEAPME Administrative Council in
Brussels. UEAPME is the Association of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, of
which GRTU is a full member.

A
guest of the Council was Mme Françoise
Le Bail, Director General at DG Justice. She was invited for the session
entitled Justice for Growth. President Abela asked Mme La Bail about a fee
requested out of all local companies in relation to data protection. Mme La
Bail stated that she would like to verify this, however local authorities
should have enough funds and resources given to them from the local Government
not to necessitate the request of funds from local enterprises. Therefore local
authorities should not request fees from enterprises.

Mme Le Bail also discussed the Insolvency Regulation
and the Late Payments Directive with the UEAPME Council. She stated that
especially Governments should only make orders if they have the funds for them
and pay within 15days. She said that the problem of late payments by
Governments varied within the Member States however within all Member States
they are a primary cause of strive for small businesses most especially and
Ministers should make their utmost to find a solution to this problem.

The issue of banks repossession of property was also
discussed. It was mentioned that in Sweden for instance banks do not take 100%
hypothecation on a property but 30%.

Late last month, thanks to Hon Jason Azzopardi,
Minister for Fair Competition, Small Businesses and Consumer Affairs, Mr Abela
has had another opportunity to meet UEAPME Secretary General Andrea Benassi as
he was also invited to join the delegation of SME Envoys in Malta. During his
meeting with Mr  Benassi President Paul
Abela had the opportunity to discuss the loan guarantee and micro credit. The
meeting of the SME envoys in Malta was a very good initiative for which we have
Hon Azzopardi to thank. It must be mentioned that it was on Hon Azzopardi's
initiative that this successful Envoy meeting was held in Malta.

Green MT, the National Waste
Packaging Compliance Scheme has recently held a School Recycling Campaign.
Thirty Schools or colleges participated in this campaign aptly called Go Green Man. Green MT in collaboration with the Deceduti Character Gable and Maltese Singer and songwriter Kristina Casolani took to the
schools and held an event at each School. The event included an informative talk
by Green Mt Eco Councillors who provided enough information to the students
present so that they would answer questions set to them by Gable.

During the eight weeks of the competition 70 tons of recyclable
materials were recovered. The winners of this competition were St Francis
School of Birkirkara who have over 310 students, closely followed by St Paul's
Bay Primary School which have over 800 students.

It is to be noted that although
placing second, this school collected the highest volume of material in the
period, just over 27 tons which is a remarkable achievement. The effort put in
by both the students and the parents was highly commended by the Scheme. Third
placed was Verdala Boys College who worked very hard in this competition. This
college has over 900 students.

During two events held to award the winners, St Paul's
Bay Primary School was given a surprise appearance by Malta's Eurovision Idol,
Kurt Calleja who sung and danced with the students. Students were given over
fifty gifts raffled on the day whilst each of the 800 students were given a
party pack. Kristina Casolani closed the event with her singing and students
were without fail enthralled.  During the
event Green MT thanked the parents who helped to make this competition a
success story for the School and thanked Mrs Dalmas, the School Head, who
cooperated and encouraged the students to work hard on the project.

In the second event held on June 27^th, St Francis
School of Birkirkara were also given a surprise award. The students were
visited by four of the Deceduti Characters, including Gable and Mr M amongst others.
Kristina Casolani was also present and sang for the students whilst the
presence of animators included face painting, drawings and games for the
students. Food was distributed and a party pack was also given to all the
students. The School recovered over 14tons of recyclable materials. A number of
helpers were also thanked on the day.

Another thank you event will be held for Verdala Boys
College in the second week of October 2012, first semester of the coming
scholastic year.

The Campaign included also a Bin Design Competition.
The designs of the bins were posted on Go Green
Man facebook
page and the one with most likes will be the declared winner and Green MT
intends to manufacture the said design of the bin for use within Schools and
localities.

Green MT has also held an audition for up and coming
young singers who together with prolific singer and songwriter Kristina
Casolani will come up with a song for Green MT which will eventually be sold,
with proceeds going for charity.

Green MT is by far Malta's largest Waste Packaging
Compliance Scheme, catering for nearly 270,000 residents in Malta and Gozo.
Green MT operates the collection of Grey Recycle Bags and also Recovery from
Bring in Sites and the commercial sector. The Scheme recovers over 1000 tons of
packaging waste monthly and caters for the cleaning of over 375 sets of Bring
in Sites in Malta and Gozo.

‘We are working
hard to provide an education campaign to our younger generation, at any cost.
It is an investment for many years to come. We owe it to our future generations
and we have to keep in mind that we are here to leave our environment much
better then we found it, for our children'  stated
Joe Attard, Green MT CEO. This campaign will continue in the first and second
semester of the scholastic year 2012/2013 and we duly hope that in that period
the Scheme will cater for a competition for 60 other schools and colleges.

Green MT would like to thank each and every
participant, the supporting parents, all school administrators from heads to
teachers, the Eco Councillors who delivered talks to each School, Gable and the
team behind the Deceduti Character, singer Kristina Casolani, all Green MT
Staff, and last but not least the contractors who recovered and weighed the
material…70, 000 kilos of packaging waste!

Following a meeting held this
week at the Ministry for Fair Competition, SMEs and Consumer Affairs regarding
the Marsaxlokk promenade issues, in the presence of Hon Jason Azzopardi, Hon
Mario Demarco, Transport Malta, Marsaxlokk LC and representatives of the Monti
Hawkers, by GRTU Executive Carmen Borg and Lawyer Dr Jan Karl Farrugia, GRTU
wrote to the above mentioned Ministers and gave them GRTU's position in
writing.

GRTU informed them that we are in agreement
with the proposals made by Dr Stanley Portelli regarding the traffic in Xatt
is-Sajjieda, in the short term reducing the traffic speed and flow, and in the
long term converting the promenade to a pedestrian zone. GRTU however maintains
its reservations regarding this proposal as a viable option due to the
fishermen's constant requirements to access the slipways and other designated
zones.

GRTU called for their
intervention in the matter, particularly to save this summer's commerce for the
restaurant owners along the promenade. The short term solution of having market
hawkers in between restaurant premises and their tables and chairs along the
promenade cannot be accepted. It is absolutely impracticable for a restaurant
to be visually impaired from seeing the patrons on his tables and chairs on the
promenade. It is hugely impracticable for waiting staff to cross in between
market stalls. This proposal will only augment already existing issues.

The 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 21 Market Hawker
Operators.

GRTU argued that the current
abuse, with certain Market Hawker stalls exceeding 90 feet in length should
never be accepted by Government and the Local Council. Should the stalls for
the Market Hawkers in Marsaxlokk even remotely come close to these sizes, then
there will 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.

Therefore short term plans for
the area should allow Restaurant Owners to place tables and chairs in
accordance with the submitted Plans, whilst regulating appropriate interim
stall-sizes for the Market Hawkers.

After the success of our first Smartphone Training Sessions, Vodafone will be holding another set of training sessions for individuals owning a smartphone
Schedule of Smartphone Training Sessions :

Venue for all sessions: Vodafone House – Meeting Room 4

Tuesday 10th July – IPhone 5.30pm – 7.00pm

Wednesday 11th July – Android 5.30pm – 7.00pm

Saturday 28th July – IPHONE – 9.00am – 10.30am

Saturday 28th July – ADNROID – 11.00am – 12.30pm

Retail representatives are invited to promote and offer these free
training sessions to all customers purchasing an I-phone or an Android
Smartphone.

Malta’s prices lower than other 18 EU Member States and 20% lower than average –
In 2011, price levels for consumer goods and services differed widely across Member States, the EUI average being 51%. Denmark (142% of the EU27 average) had the highest price level, followed by Sweden (128%), Finland (125%) and Luxembourg (122%). Price levels of 10% to 20% above the EU27 average were found in Ireland (117%), Belgium (112%) and France (111%), while the Netherlands (108%), Austria (107%), Germany and Italy (both 103%) and the United Kingdom (102%) had levels up to 10% above the average.

Spain (97% of the EU27 average) and Greece (95%) were just below the
average, while Cyprus (89%), Portugal (87%) and Slovenia (84%) were
between 10% and 20% below. Price levels between 20% and 30% below the
average were observed in Estonia (79%), Malta (78%), the Czech Republic
(77%), Latvia (74%) and Slovakia (72%), and levels between 30% and 40%
below in Lithuania (66%), Hungary (64%), Poland and Romania (both 60%).

The
lowest price levels were found in Bulgaria (51%).
Food price levels varied by one to two across the Member States
Price levels for food and non-alcoholic beverages in 2011 ranged from
67% of the EU27 average in Bulgaria to 136% of the average in Denmark.
Differences in price levels between Member States were less for this
product group than for total goods and services.

For alcoholic beverages
and tobacco, prices were lowest in Hungary (63% of the average) and
highest in Ireland (163%). This large price variation is mainly due to
differences in taxation of these products among Member States.

Clothing is one of the groups of products showing a smaller price
variation among Member States, with Bulgaria (75% of the average)
cheapest and Sweden (133%) most expensive. Consumer electronics6 is
another group of products where prices differed less among Member
States, ranging from 89% of the average in Poland to 125% in Malta.
Excluding Denmark (167% of the average), price differences among Member
States were also limited for personal transport equipment, with levels
varying from 83% of the average in Bulgaria to 122% in Portugal.
For restaurants and hotels, price variations were more significant, with
price levels ranging from 45% of the average in Bulgaria to 154% of the
average in Denmark.

A fuller report is available at:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/2-22062012-AP/EN/2-22062012-AP-EN.PDF