Updated 1252 – Five new cases of coronavirus
Updated 1031 – Opposition takes Minister Carmelo Abela to task for insisting that retailers should start paying full wages to employees
Claudio Grech, the Nationalist Party’s spokesman for the economy criticized Government’s insistence on retailers to start paying full wages to employees now that the COVID-19 lockdown is over. In comments to Business Today, Grech is reported to have described this message, which Minister Carmelo Abela re-iterated over the past few days, as merely a curtain-raiser for the government’s withdrawal of the wage supplement. “Unfortunately this reflects a stark disconnect from the reality which businesses and their employees are living in today”.
“Now one needs to also understand that the existing wage supplement and main benefits – including rent support and utility support – are only available for a select number of sectors with thousands of businesses and their workforce left to face the critical economic conditions on their own steam.”
The paper also quotes Grech in proposing that government should be providing targeted, temporary and timely relief to all those enterprises that have been materially impacted, with relief intensity linked to the extent of impact on revenues and liquidity.
Updated 0941 – 20% of businesses still considering lay-offs – MEA
20% of businesses taking part in a survey contacted by the Malta Employers Association on Covid-19 said that they expect an increase in layoffs from now until September. However, this number reflects an improvement, with over 30% of businesses saying they might resort to redundancies back in April.
This survey was carried out before Government’s mini-budget announced earlier this week. 253 respondents took part on behalf of 300 companies, together employing around 30,000 persons.
The MEA said that 34% of respondents were not seeing anny increased redundancies in the next three months, while 46% had not taken any position as yet. Joe Farrugia, MEA’s Director General expressed his hope that the government’s measures would lower the number of employers having the need to resort to redundancies at this point in time.
Updated 0910 – Newspaper Review
The Malta Business Weekly leads with a survey by the Employers’ Association which finds that a fifth of companies consider laying off workers in the coming months. The number is down from almost a third in April.
The Times also quotes the study by the Employers’ Association which says that just over half of employers expect their businesses to make a full recovery. The director-general of the association expressed concern over widespread pessimism among employers.
Business Today says that retail businesses that have reopened in recent weeks came out strongly against calls by OPM minister Carmelo Abela urging them to start paying full wages to their employees again.
The Independent asks the Prime Minister whether there was a link between Konrad Mizzi’s return to Malta and the nomination of a new Police Commissioner. The Prime Minister brushed off the possibility and lauded the integrity of the new police chief.
In-Nazzjon quotes the Opposition Leader’s reaction to the economic stimulus plan announced by the government. Adrian Delia criticized a lack of long-term economic vision and said that the plan fails to provide fresh ideas for the tourism sector.
L-Orizzont speaks to economists Gordon Cordina, Alfred Mifsud and Philip von Brockdorff about the recovery package launched by the government. The paper says that the economists welcome the plan and expect it to kickstart the economy.
The Malta Business Weekly reports on the launch of Aircraft Leasing Malta, the country’s first aircraft leasing agency. Prime Minister Robert Abela said the initiative aims to create a new niche for the industry in the country.
The Times reports that the Police Economic Crimes Unit is investigating every member of the Cabinet over possible misuse of public funds to boost content on social media. In May, the Standards Commissioner found that four ministers had incorrectly used funds.
Business Today reports that notaries were stunned by the withdrawal of a directive on property sales tax, just hours after it was announced in the government’s regeneration plan. Notaries called the backtracking ‘unprecedented misguidance’.
The Malta Business Weekly says that around 4,000 companies from across Europe applied for a special fund by the EU Commission to finance innovative solutions to combat the effects of Covid-19. No company from Malta participated in the call.
L-Orizzont follows the debate on the economic regeneration plan in parliament which ended in commotion as the Prime Minister, in his closing remarks, criticised Opposition MP Jason Azzopardi for appearing as a lawyer in a case against himself and army officials.
The Independent reports that special directives for First Holy Communion ceremonies are being prepared by the Curia to advise parishes. The guidelines are expected to limit the size of congregations and mandate the wearing of masks.
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Government’s economic regeneration plan announced last Monday remained on the agenda yesterday with Parliament debating the measures yesterday evening. Opposition Leader Adrian Delia argued that while Government was throwing a life-saver to those who were “drowning”, the package does nothing to lift up the many who find themselves in “troubled waters”. In particular, he noted that these initiatives ignored once again the plight of around 100,000 workers whose employment depended on business activity that was significantly hit by the economic and social restrictions but still did not benefit from the wage supplement. The PN also continued to drum home the need for lower electricity tariffs at a point when energy prices had reached historical lows.
Prime Minister Robert Abela refuted such claims, actually claiming that a number of workers had told him that they did not need to continue receiving the wage supplement. Instead, Government has decided to prolong this scheme until September. He also accused the Opposition Leader that had Government listened to his insistence to take the country in full lockdown, the consequences would have been catastrophic. Abela said: “We have instilled confidence in the public and given them faith that tomorrow will be a better day. We are here to give and continue supporting those that are in need of support.”
The Opposition criticized the package for looking at today’s needs with no hint of a long-term plan, with Finance spokesperson Mario de Marco arguing that government failed to propose any incentives to attract tourists to Malta. The former PN Deputy Leader challenged Government to explain who Malta would promote itself to overcome competition from other destinations offering a relatively similar product, such as Greece and Spain.
Economy spokesperson Claudio Grech described the plan as “visionless” and challenged Government’s claim that the package amounted to some 900 million euro, recalling that the proposed infrastructural investment as well as tax deferrals, costing roughly 600 million euro, were already in the pipeline.
Economy Minister Silvio Schembri described as an “economic miracle” the progress registered by the country since 2013, adding that the next step was to acquire leadership in the digital field. Schembri estimated that the hardest-hit businesses will be benefiting an average of 18,000 euro each from the different initiatives announced last Monday.
CDE News
