Author: Developers Think

On 20 April, the Malta Business Bureau organised a webinar aimed at creating more awareness among the Maltese business community on the recent European Commission EU pay transparency legislative proposal, whose objective is of strengthening the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms.

The webinar was addressed by keynote speaker European Commissioner for Equality Dr. Helena Dalli. In her speech, Commissioner Dalli stated that, “Equal work deserves equal pay. The pay transparency legislative proposal is a first, but important step towards ensuring equal pay for equal work, or work of equal value. Once adopted, it will empower workers to enforce their right to freedom from gender bias in pay. Women deserve due recognition and value for their work and the Commission is committed to ensure fair wages for women and men.”

The MBB also invited several guests representing local social partners to share their initial views on the proposal.

Ms. Fabianne Ruggier, the Chairperson of the Malta Chamber’s HR Committee highlighted that, “All initiatives aiming to promote gender equality need supporting. Pay transparency can be one tool in a wider range of instruments addressing deep rooted cultural and societal causes preventing equal opportunities to women. The key with this directive is to find the right balance of meeting its objectives without creating disproportional financial and administrative burdens to companies. This should be the focus of discussions by all stakeholders moving forward.”

Mr. Norbert Grixti, Council member of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association emphasized that “Pay discrimination based on gender is illegal and goes against our values. We must however recognize the several objective factors that justify a difference in pay levels such as qualifications, professional experience, and performance. We therefore need a framework that acknowledges this both in legislation and in practice to avoid a culture of litigation, particularly in view of the shift of burden of proof on employers to disprove that discrimination occurred.

Mr. Josef Bugeja, Secretary General of the General Workers Union stated that, “The pay transparency proposal is a very important step toward the enforcement of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between male and females. It is a measure that will lead to an end to gender bias in pay. Trade Unions will play an important role in ensuring that the right to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value is respected.”

In the introductory remarks, MBB CEO Joe Tanti reiterated that “The Malta Business Bureau believes in gender equality primarily as a matter of social justice but also to meet the economy’s full potential. Our mission is to create awareness about such EU legislative initiatives and to promote dialogue among all interested stakeholders. We plan to consult more closely as we study the proposal in more detail to determine the impact of the EU pay transparency directive.”

The proceedings of the webinar on EU pay transparency can be viewed from the MBB’s social media.

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry is teaming up with HSBC Bank Malta to launch a project with the aim of providing guidance on how Malta can achieve its climate goals by focusing on enhancing standards in energy and resource efficiency and conservation within the building and construction industry.

Titled “Establishing Malta’s Framework for a Net Zero Carbon Building”, the project will be led by a team from The Malta Chamber with the aim of setting sustainable benchmarks for the industry, inspired by LEED.

Interested to learn more? Click here to register for the official launch.

Marisa Xuereb, The Malta Chamber President noted “This project is just one of the many initiatives The Malta Chamber has embarked on, with many more to come, to push towards helping our members achieve a strong, healthy and sustainable decarbonised economy which delivers on wellbeing and quality of life.”

Simon Vaughan Johnson, HSBC Malta CEO, said: “HSBC Malta is very proud to be in a position to support this ambitious 2-year project. As a bank that is constantly investing in the long-term success of the communities in which we operate, we believe that this is both a compelling and far-reaching project which we anticipate will have a positive impact on the environment and therefore the social well-being of Malta’s citizens.”

Funded by the HSBC Malta Foundation, the aim of this project is to create a guideline as to what a zero-carbon building should be like in the Maltese context. The guideline will be based on data collated from the Maltese building and construction industry and with input sought from major stakeholders.

The proposed project outlines an overarching framework of consistent principles and metrics that can set the benchmarks which could then be integrated into national policy. Primarily, the framework may be used as a tool for private business and the government to drive the transition to a net-zero carbon-built environment.

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, presented a copy of its recently published report on a proposed Public Procurement Reform to the Hon. Ian Borg, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects.

“By consulting with businesses who compete for public tenders, we have identified key challenges that hinder the efficacy of public procurement processes and impinge on public confidence,” explained Chamber President, Marisa Xuereb. “This document provides tangible and practical solutions to address these issues. Chief among them is the importance of transparency. We are engaged in an ongoing dialogue with the Ministries and public entities involved to ensure that these recommendations are evaluated and implemented, so that public expenditure delivers the best possible value.”

To further promote good governance, The Malta Chamber is suggesting a more efficient system of blacklisting of operators who are in breach of their obligations, and more transparency on the award of direct orders. “The Malta Chamber understands that direct orders are sometimes necessary, but it is imperative that their award is duly substantiated and justified, adequately publicised and also subject to scrutiny by interested parties,” noted the Chamber President.

“The general public remains our first priority and driver that keeps us rooted to our commitment to serve in the most transparent and effective way and this report is the practical blueprint which puts forward constructive and pragmatic recommendations for reform that the government can follow in order to ensure productive procurement and continuous deliverable achievements,” said Hon. Borg.

The document was compiled after a consultation process with Chamber members led by a working group of experienced business leaders and professionals from various sectors of the economy. It was developed in collaboration with Ganado Advocates.

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and AP Valletta have collaborated in a joint submission to the national consultation on the National Culture Policy 2021, as part of their extensive joint research project ‘Building Futures’. While broadly welcoming of the initiative, the submission calls for an overall governance shift of the architectural sector from ‘Works and Infrastructure’ towards ‘Culture’, while emphasizing the critical need to address the climate crisis through a cultural shift.

Addressing Malta’s planning shortcomings with revised policies alone merely addresses the superficial symptoms, rather than the underlying cultural causes. In line with Baukultur principles, The Malta Chamber & AP Valletta recognise that Building is an act of Culture and that therefore any policy aiming at supporting a cultural shift cannot restrict itself to the protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage.

It should therefore be the remit of the National Cultural Policy 2021 not only to preserve our heritage, both intangible and tangible, but to chart a vision for a responsible, civic, and inspired culture for tomorrow, which would ultimately address the contradictions between economic development and the environment, society, and quality of life. The Malta Chamber & AP Valletta advocate an approach that:

(a) questions firstly the relationship between culture and architecture;
(b) aims at testing processes leading to the definition of new parameters which will define the environment of the future;
(c) fosters multidisciplinary and collaborations among different sectors; and
(d) conveys the urgency of the need for sustainable alternatives in a direct way.

Click here to download the document. 

It is about unlocking drastic reductions in industry downtimes, creating new business models, and a better customer experience…

This was the recurrent theme during a Pitching Webinar organised by the Malta Chamber as part of Enterprise Europe Network, in collaboration with Tech.MT and Bank of Valletta during the second day of the virtual event entitled ‘Re-Engineering Manufacturing and Retail for the New Norm’.

The first of two pitching webinars taking place this month provided exposure for Malta-based technology solution companies, attracting the attention of investors and end users in manufacturing and retail industry about a distinct product they wanted to promote.

It served as an excellent opportunity to boost their visibility with future potential buyers and business collaborators, improving respective capability to grow and reach out to new local and international clients. Close to 200 business representatives from over 20 countries registered a profile till date, in the virtual platform published by the Malta Chamber in February. More expected to register in the run-up to the second part of the event on the 28th and 29th April.

5 successful applicants were assigned a brief timeslot to showcase and impress buyers with their distinct solution, assessed by 3 local leading experts.

A combination of technical and organisational challenges were showcased, including applicants in supply-chain management, digital payments, manufacturing operations management, plant maintenance, and enterprise resource planning for IoT platforms.

The pitching performers were:
• Alex Sun and Ron Mifsud from Connecton Marketing
• David Sciberras from Invent3D
• James Camilleri from Fyorin
• Foaad Mohamad Haddod from HumAIne Ltd
• Stefan Debattista from ShowsHappening

The three experts engaged by Malta Chamber and Tech.MT were:

• Mark Scicluna Bartoli, Executive on EU & Institutional Affairs section from Bank of Valletta:
• Gordon Micallef, Digital Consultant from RSM Malta:
• Johan Zammit, Founder and CEO at Smart Studios Ltd:

Tech.MT CEO Dana Farrugia opened the proceedings of the Pitching event by underlining the importance of these events to showcase economic-based innovation solutions towards value-added manufacturing and smart technologies.

Ms Farrugia explained how disruption is revolutionising our thinking, our operations and our production, aligning industry output with consumer expectations and enabling returns on investments.
The Pitching session was supplemented with an online session of one-to-one B2B pre-arranged meetings amongst the participants.

Thirty manufacturing operators, seventy service providers, fifteen stakeholders and ten EU funding entities registered in the event digital platform had the opportunity to meet each other during short network meetings to establish business collaborations.

On Wednesday, the Malta Chamber, active member within Enterprise Europe Network which brings together 600 business organisations from across 65 countries; kickstarted a virtual event bringing together manufacturing, retail and technology companies with corporate service providers, public bodies and academia to learn, meet and engage in the current economic recovery phase.

Within the strong line up of speakers, Mr. Norman Aquilina, CEO, Farsons Group and Malta Chamber Board of Management member, weighed in on the future of sustainable manufacturing. Mr Aquilina started off by noting that sustainable manufacturing must ensure that business models should not only feature environmentally friendly and socially responsible practices but must also be supported by economically sound practices.

Mr Aquilina elaborated on the concept of a triple bottom line approach, including Financial – Environment – Community. With this in mind, he shared practical and tangible examples on how businesses can embrace the competitive challenge by restructuring their business models to incorporate elements of innovation, a strong investment plan and smart upskilling of workforce.

Aquilina emphasised that adopting such practices are fruitful in terms of building long-term business visibility, strengthening corporate reputation and promoting circularity, three very important factors in todays ever so competitive business environment.

Close to 200 business representatives from over 20 countries have so far registered a profile in the virtual platform published by the Malta Chamber in February.

The learning and engaging platform is focused on realigning Manufacturing business activity, restructure operations, optimising the use of technology and identifying new markets internationally which embrace sustainable practices.

More companies are expected to register in the coming days, particularly Retail operators, whose focus will take place during the second part of the event on the 28th and 29th April.

A collaboration between Malta Enterprise and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry will see start-ups benefitting from a new measure set to increase their visibility. The agreement, supported by the Ministry for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development, is another measure in a string of initiatives announced in recent days.

The agreement will allow innovative businesses hosted at the Korradino Business Incubation Center (KBIC) to strengthen their network. Entrepreneurs will benefit from services, rights, and obligations resulting from a partnership with the Malta Chamber. This includes the opportunity to actively participate in internal committees, join the Young Chamber Network, meet established business people, and access international opportunities.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Malta Enterprise CEO Kurt Farrugia, Malta Chamber President Marisa Xuereb and Deputy President Christopher Vassallo Cesareo. Minister Miriam Dalli presided over the signing ceremony.

President of the Malta Chamber Marisa Xuereb explained how these start-ups’ membership within the Malta Chamber will expose them to important contacts, knowledge and discussions in their respective industry.

“It will allow them to share their views and not just listen to what others have to say. I believe that this support is essential for these start-ups to grow in a business environment that, over time, is becoming more competitive, and to contribute to a better economic future that our country deserves,” Marisa Xuereb said.

“With one initiative after another, we are looking at strengthening the foundations for start-ups on four main pillars; access to funding through schemes, mentoring, access to information, and networking,” said Minister Miriam Dalli.

“Malta Enterprise has provided some €6 million in assistance to entrepreneurs under the BStart and Startup Finance schemes in four years. We will continue to encourage businesses to be innovative and continue attracting investment in different and innovative areas such as drones, fintech, AI, augmented reality, and digital gaming sectors.”

Mr Cain Grech, head of KBIC, explained how the hub currently hosts 13 companies operating in various sectors, including restoration services, digital game development, cosmetics, forensics, quality controls, and 3D printing, among others.

This agreement follows the launch of the Startinmalta initiative. Malta continues to strengthen the visibility of Maltese start-ups and attract new ones. Additionally, through the agreement between Malta Enterprise and the University of Malta, the TAKEOFF initiative will lead to new start-ups having the necessary knowledge to access different funds and schemes.

“We are in talks with Government to convey industry operators’ feedback on the re-engineering and transformation scheme, to build further on its sound basis and align it more to their needs.”

Malta Chamber President Ms Marisa Xuereb stated this during an Enterprise Europe Network event within an innovative digital learning and networking platform launched by Malta Chamber, focused on aligning manufacturing and retail businesses to the requirements of a New Norm.

The platform is aimed to help operators restructure their operations, optimise the use of technology and business operations by bringing them in contact with service providers and facilitate their preposition to penetrate international markets during one-to-one business meetings.

Close to 200 business representatives from over 20 countries have so far registered in the virtual platform set up by The Malta Chamber last February.
Ms Marisa Xuereb, explained the thought process behind the learning and engagement platform. She stated why the Malta Chamber has endeavoured to invest towards making best use of digital tools to continue providing value to its members during the pandemic, emphasising that the manufacturing industry needs to be clear towards where it is heading, by starting small but thinking big.

“The first ambition, which the Malta Chamber has clearly outlined in its Economic Vision towards 2025, is that of achieving smart economic growth within the sector. Through this learning and engagement platform we are responsibly showcasing what a company within the industry can do to achieve its ambitions within a New Norm. Essentially, we want the industry to embrace initatives and implement actions to design and build operating models around innovation and technological capabilities. We want our businesses to become knowledge-based enterprises, competing with cutting edge value-added manufacturing and reinventing service sectors such as retail and tourism”.

Ms Xuereb, a manufacturing operator herself, explained that even though our local industry proved to be resilient during the pandemic it is still a long way from reaping the full benefits of Industrial Internet of Things. She therefore underlined the importance of reacting to market changes faster and more efficiently by allowing adjustments to production capacity.

Ms Xuereb also acknowledged that the manufacturing industry, like the country, is in a race against time to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19 through vaccination. She explained that while remote working has provided many employers and employees with new possibilities, there are many jobs that do not lend themselves to remote working. In this spirit, she repeated the call made last week towards prioritising the vaccination of employees who cannot work from home.

“Initiatives such as workplace vaccination centres would make it easier for employees to get vaccinated and company doctors could assist in administering vaccines to get more people vaccinated within a short time frame. Such strategies would contribute to a more effective roll-out as workplaces have been consistently the second most common source of contagion after household contacts.”

Over the past months, both the public and the private sector had been calling on the Government to take the shortage of nurses seriously, even more so recently, since the UK was poaching foreign nurses working in Malta.

The Care Home Operators within The Malta Chamber proposed, among other recommendations, the reduction in bureaucracy being met with, when applying for work permits through Identity Malta. The duration of the permit, the substantial cost for renewals and the problems encountered when bringing their spouses and children to join them locally, were amongst the reasons several had decided to leave Malta, creating a huge problem in hospitals, clinics and care homes amongst others.

Following a decision reached between the Government and the Union of Nurses to allow for the provision of a three-year work permit for nurses employed in the public sector, representatives of the Care Home Operators Business Section met with Parliamentary Secretary Hon. Alex Muscat to discuss the application of these provisions to nurses working in the private sector.

Representatives of the Care Home Operators Business Section within the Malta Chamber made the point that the private sector alleviates the burden to the State when offering its services to the population, and many operators are also providing their service to the Government. Removing red tape in support of the public sector alone is unwarranted and will only result in foreign health care workers seeking employment within the Public Health System compounding the problem further for the private sector. Anything but an equal playing field is not acceptable.

The Parliamentary Secretary agreed to further discussion with Identity Malta on the issue of residency permits for nurses in the private sector. He further emphasised the applicability of EU legislation in the field of family reunification while promising to work within this framework to ensure that Malta offers competitive conditions for these workers.