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Category: Articles

Green Jobs – Employers Survey

Posted on by SME Chamber

You are invited to contribute towards our research study on Green Jobs

Climate crisis and environmental degradation are challenging sustainable economic development. Resorting to investments in a Green Economy can help overcome such challenges as well as secure a just and equitable future that improves people’s lives through the advancement of environmental and social well-being.

This green transition will affect the world of work through the creation of new jobs together with the need to reskill and upskill employees.

Jobsplus entered the research stage on Project INTERCEPT and they are currently circulating a survey among Employers and Training Service Providers.

It would be appreciated if you could participate in this survey.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HBX3RWV

Press Release: Malta Chamber of SMEs endorses the investment announced on a new industrial zone in Ħal Far

Posted on by SME Chamber

The project will have a space of 14,000 metres squared and 30 new units will be created

The Malta Chamber of SMEs endorses the investment announced by the Hon. Minister Silvio Schembri on Monday to develop a new Industrial facility at Ħal-Far.

The SME Chamber has in the past, called on the Government on the need of further investment in new industrial zones, to be allocated for SMEs in order to assist them in growing and further expanding their business.

Malta Chamber of SMEs President Mr Paul Abela said that such investment is greatly needed to encourage SMEs to invest especially during these times, where some uncertainty remains. The project announced by Minister Schembri will have a space of 14,000 metres squared and 30 new units will be created.

Press Release: Malta Chamber of SMEs congratulates Roberta Metsola on being elected President of the European Parliament

Posted on by SME Chamber

Roberta Metsola was elected on the first count with 458 votes

The Malta Chamber of SMEs congratulates MEP Roberta Metsola on being elected President of the European Parliament, one of the topmost 3 positions at the European institutions.

The SME Chamber always had an open channel of communication with Robert Metsola as an MEP and we cooperated on various issues affecting Maltese SMEs.

Roberta Metsola’s new role, making her the European Parliament’s first woman president in 20 years is a very important achievement for her, but above all for Malta.

Coming from the smallest member state in the European Union, this makes it much more important for Malta and other small states. It gives a factual message that great things can be done, even with the most limited of resources.

Such positions are usually occupied by members coming from the biggest countries. To have such a position occupied by a person coming from a small state is almost unheard-of.

Dr Metsola will now hold a position of influence and therefore it’s an opportunity to put small states more on the agenda.

This election gives Malta an opportunity to celebrate tremendous positive news following the recent steak of bad news related to Malta which have tarnished Malta’s reputation. Malta is turning the corner and with this achievement, thanks to the capabilities of Dr Metsola, we’re sending a message that Malta has a lot of good to offer.

Having such a young and capable female at the help of this important institution is not just a statement for Malta but also for the EU. Malta has been made proud.

Malta Chamber of SMEs council members meet Prime Minister Robert Abela

Posted on by SME Chamber

COVID wage supplement to stay for as long as needed – Prime Minister

The Malta Chamber of SMEs council members yesterday met Prime Minister Robert Abela and discussed several issues that SMEs are currently facing.

The Prime Minister announced the Wage Supplement extended will end of February and promised his continuous support for SMEs during the coming months.

Speaking at Castille in a meeting with the Chamber for SMEs, Robert Abela said the government had cut through bureaucracy to help businesses, and it would continue to do so, having already forked out €680 million for the purpose

The meeting discussed various related issues, including energy prices and rising shipping costs, with the prime minister saying the government is committed to keeping prices stable.

Follow the Prime Minister’s message to SMEs: https://bit.ly/3qnloTc

Press Release: Ireland, Italy, Spain, Greece, UK, Switzerland and Slovenia all cut quarantine periods

Posted on by SME Chamber

Malta’s is at the front to take these steps with additional security, having the backing of Malta’s successful vaccination strategy

SME Chamber calls again to immediately revise Malta’s Quarantine rules to 5 days for those testing positive only, in line with the recommendations of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

The way the illness has developed with the Omicron variant, which is now the prevalent variant in Malta, offers such a possibility and Malta needs to move fast, like other countries are doing before circumstances change, as sometimes happens with new variants, and Malta would end up missing out on this important window of opportunity.  

The Omicron variant, whilst still considered of concern, has been recognised as milder by the major health institutions such as WHO. This, coupled with the fact that Malta has the best record when it comes to vaccination take-up and booster take up, puts Malta in a position to operate closer to normality and reduce the most difficult measures which are causing harm to the economy and society. 

The side effects of such a long quarantine period has great repercussions on mental health and damages our social fabric.  The prevention of persons from interacting, families from supporting each other as they would usually do and making ones’ ability to earn their livelihood more difficult requires serious consideration.  

Businesses are reporting great difficulties in dealing with quarantine and this comes with a big cost for workers unable to work online. The human resources difficulties our country was facing before the manifestation of thousands of quarantines has made the problem impossible. Businesses cannot cope with quarantine and this is forcing businesses to rescind on their operation. 

Switzerland and the UK have just yesterday announced an immediate reduction of the quarantine periods to 5 days. Greece took this step before, on the 1st of January. Ireland, Spain and Slovenia reduced their 10 days to 7 days as of the start of this year. Italy has totally scrapped quarantine for any close contact if the person is vaccinated. 

These countries have all based their decisions on the recommendation of the CDC and in view of the challenges their countries are facing, which are outweighing the current risk posed by the Omicron variant. As such, whilst keeping a recommended level of quarantine, since Omicron is still of concern, they are reducing the quarantine periods to avoid doing more harm than good. 

Malta’s is at the front to take these steps with additional security, having the backing of Malta’s successful vaccination strategy which is incomparable to the levels of other countries. Moving towards the CDC recommendation in the immediate is therefore essential.

Chamber of SMEs CEO presents proposal to take up CDC recommendation to reduce quarantine period for 5 days – for positive cases only – at Employment Board

Posted on by SME Chamber

Chamber of SMEs insisted that the level of disruption at the workplace and the grave side effects of the quarantine, require the rules to be revisited

During today’s meeting of the Employment Relations Board, where the CEO of the Chamber of SMEs is a Board Member, held with the participation of the Superintendence of Public Health, the Data Protection Commissioner and the CEO of the Health and Safety Authority, Ms Agius Mamo presented the Chamber’s proposal to take up the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s latest recommendation to reduce quarantine.

The Chamber of SMEs CEO insisted that ‘the Chamber is not seeking to do the work of the health authorities, however such important developments coming from a recognised institution like the CDC cannot be ignored. Recommendations by the CDC were taken up before by our country, based on the consideration that they were well studied and based on science. Given how negatively our economy and society are being affected by the difficult quarantine requirements, Malta cannot ignore such an important recommendation.’

During the Board meeting the Chamber of SMEs insisted that the level of disruption at the workplace and the grave side effects of the quarantine, require the rules to be revisited. The conditions of being isolated and locked inside are hard on anyone to bare and only to be kept if absolutely necessary. The Chamber also warned that the system is risking a collapse since people, faced with the hard quarantine conditions, are increasingly not reporting their primary contacts when possible and are taking things into their own hands and catering for their illness in private without any official test.

During the meeting the Malta Chamber of SMEs also expressed its disagreement with the latest change in policy of not issuing a quarantine notice specifying all the individuals under quarantine and the duration of their quarantine. The Chamber emphasised that the system is confusing for employers and employees. Work out the increase in quarantine is far from easy carrying out the necessary checks and confirmations will increase the bureaucratic burden, in addition to giving space to abuse.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs therefore called on the health authorities to revisit the quarantine notification system. Regulations which are not implementable or enforceable must be changed.

Link to CDC recommendation: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1227-isolation-quarantine-guidance.html

MBR accepting documentation in electronic form

Posted on by SME Chamber

The Malta Business Registry reminds the public that the Registrar of Companies (the “Registrar”) is accepting documentation in electronic form. All documentation that is required to be submitted to the Registrar in accordance with Maltese company law procedures, may be validly submitted electronically by making use from one of the following methods:

(a) The Malta Business Registry’s online portal

 (b) The Malta Business Registry’s electronic submissions’ email address

All registered users on the current online portal may submit the necessary documentation using the already-established simple method referred to in (a). The information needed in order to follow this step may be found on https://mbr.mt/online-filing-information/

In case that a user is not in possession of a Maltese ID Card or does not hold the necessary infrastructure of a smart card reader, method (b) referred to above may instead be followed. The user in this case is only required to have a valid qualified electronic signature (Refer to Appendix A for more information) to complete electronic submissions and be able to sign the documentation electronically. All the forms and documentation required to be submitted for registration would need to be signed using the respective qualified electronic signature as issued by the qualified trust service provider. Once the documents are signed, the user may then proceed to send the documentation to dedicated email address on 

MBR urges you to limit the submission of documents / correspondence in paper-format unless it’s absolutely necessary. If documents are delivered to their premises in Zejtun, one can either hand them over directly to our front office staff or place them in a box situated at the entrance of our premises.

If one opts for the latter option, it is important that:

  1. all documents are accompanied by a covering letter listing all the documents submitted and the name and details of a contact person, and

  2. placed in a sealed envelope with the name of the company/ies clearly visible.

If documents are delivered by courier, in addition to points (1) and (2) above, the envelope must clearly state the name of the Company Service Provider. Envelopes having missing information will be sent back.

If you require assistance or clarification do not hesitate to MBR:  https://mbr.mt/contact/

Cheques and Bank Drafts & Cash-Based Transactions Policy

Posted on by SME Chamber

The Directive No 19 on the use of cheques and bank drafts in terms of the CENTRAL BANK OF MALTA ACT (Cap. 204) came into force on the 1st of January 2022.This directive seeks to ensure the safe and effective use of cheques and bank drafts, referred to as ‘paper-based instruments’, to reduce the legal and operational risks associated with these payment instruments.

The below is a summary of the main Rules of the Directive:

The below is a summary of the main Regulations of the Directive:

As from 1st January 2022, the Malta Business Registry (“MBR”) also needs to follow this directive and thus payments by cheques and bank drafts or by cash will be allowed using the following policy:

In case of Cheques and Bank Drafts:

In case of Cash-based Transactions:

The Malta Chamber of SMEs in collaboration with the Central Bank of Malta have recently organised a webinar about the recent regulation that establishes new rules on the use of cheques and bank drafts.You may click on the video below and view the webinar recording.

More details about the Directive can be found on the Central Bank of Malta website (News – Central Bank of Malta (centralbankmalta.org)). Moreover, further details about the Cash (Restriction) Regulations can also be found on the FIAU website (Cash Restriction – FIAU Malta).

Due Diligence Helpdesk for SMEs on EU Sanctions

Posted on by SME Chamber

The Helpdesk aims to help EU SMEs by making available free-of-charge support with the completion of due diligence checks concerning EU restrictive measures compliance for specific business projects in Iran

The Due Diligence Helpdesk on EU Sanctions is an initiative funded by the European Union, building on the previous action financed under the Partnership Instrument “Due diligence for EU operators related to Iran” and the EU Sanctions Tool. It aims to support EU businesses, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), that are willing to engage with Iran, to do so legitimately, in compliance with EU legislation and within the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA).

The Helpdesk provides EU SMEs with free-of-charge due diligence verifications on specific business projects in Iran, assessing their compliance with EU restrictive measures (sanctions).

The objective is to reassure EU SMEs and their financing partner institutions regarding the legitimacy of their intended business activities in Iran, thus demonstrating the EU’s continued commitment to the JCPoA.

The free-of-charge services of the Due Diligence Helpdesk on EU Sanctions include:

Helpdesk Enquiry Service – Confidential Consultation

Individual EU SMEs can submit enquiries via the Sanctions DD Analysis tool, accessing a panel of experts to receive confidential first-line information on their specific business case. The Helpdesk will perform due diligence verifications and inform EU SMEs about whether their planned business activities will contravene EU Sanctions.

Information Materials

EU SMEs can download information materials from the website concerning EU sanctions and due diligence requirements pertaining to Iran’s business environment. The Helpdesk also publishes a regular newsletter which describes the due diligence approaches generally adopted in the emerging business sectors of interest to EU SMEs. News items are regularly posted on the Helpdesk website to keep EU SMEs up-to-date with the most important developments in the Iranian business environment.

Webinars

The Helpdesk delivers webinars for EU SMEs conducting business in Iran. Introduced by renowned experts, they cover EU sanctions and other due diligence compliance requirements when conducting business in Iran.