Improving conditions at a national level for businesses

Continues from page 2

New Sectors

During 2017 GRTU was successful in attracting and servicing two new sectors within GRTU:

i. Panel Beaters Repairers

GRTU has carried out substantial work with this sector. From four enterprise owners within this sector turning to GRTU for help in view of developments that had occurred, GRTU today represents over a 100 of these enterprises and within it has also welcomed the Collision and Repairers Association, with which it has worked hand in hand for the last year.

GRTU has so far been successful in addressing the main urgent issue that was causing harm to many enterprises in the sector. Panel beaters and repairers were being forced into an additional certification system that they did not agree to or sign up for at their own expense. The certification equalled a cost that would run up to over a €1,000 per year, over a period of four years.

Thanks to the support provided by GRTU, through the assistance of the lawyers, the MCCAA and the CRA, the repairers managed to hold their ground and reverse what was being imposed on them. This entailed a lot of work and going through the official channels of the MCCAA and assisting it in its investigation by presenting arguments and evidence.

The MCCAA eventually issued a winning interim order on insurances to stop implementing the QVR as mandatory, stop marketing it in a way as to place those not having the certification in a bad light and inform all their clients that there will be no distinction in payment between clients that choose a QVR repairer and those that choose a non-QVR repairer.

Due to this issue the work of many repairers had been stalled and/or becoming difficult. Today work has resumed back to normal. GRTU will continue collaborating with different stakeholders to continue addressing the other issues that are till today negatively affecting the sector. and ii. Childcare Centres

Childcare Centres had approached GRTU with a number of issues affecting their sector, the main one however being the expiry of their existing contract with government. Within GRTU today there is incorporated the Childcare Centre Providers Association.

Operators in this sector complained that the rate given to them required updating as costs had increased drastically and operating certain aspects of the job was becoming unsustainable. Following discussions, government decided it would carry out a study to guide it in the negotiations on the price for the service. Meanwhile GRTU negotiated a temporary agreement that saw a marginal increase in price and also secured a backdated review in price once the new agreement is closed and the new prices are agreed.

GRTU is currently negotiating the new agreement together with the representatives of the sector. Government is committed to close the new agreement within the first week of February.

EU Funding

During last year, GRTU has once again closed a number of EUfunded projects and also paved the way for opportunities for next year. EU funds are a very important source of income for the organisation and GRTU is aiming to continue working hard to reap the full benefits from what is available. i. Europe Direct GRTU has successfully closed the last of the five years for which it had acquired the project. Through the €20,000 a year of Europe Direct funds GRTU was able to diversify in the stakeholder it targets, increase its reach, carry out numerous activities and network with other organisations and institutions.

Among the Europe Direct activities was the running of an information centre, the issuance of a newsletter, maintaining a website and social media platform and the organisation of activities. ii. East Invest GRTU has successfully closed a two-year East Invest project. GRTU’s project, in partnership with EVEA and BUEE, was part of a bigger EU-wide project organised through our social partner Brussels representatives.

East Invest is an EU-funded project that began in September 2014 within the EU4Business framework. The general aim of East Invest 2 was to facilitate the development of a competitive pri- vate sector in Eastern Partnership countries and encourage economic cooperation between them and the 28 EU member states. The Eastern Partnership countries are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

The project consisted of a number of exchanges to share experience and learn from the partner organisation. The project gave the organisation an income of around €23,000.

iii. SMEs: Tuning the art of representation (Star)

GRTU has applied and won an ESF project. We are currently in discussions with the managing authority to agree on some of the budget lines and activities of the project.

Through this project, for which we have originally requested €259,805, we would like to strengthen the capacity of GRTU Malta Chamber of SMEs as a stakeholder through investment in its human resources with a view to make the organisation a more effective and visible social partner.

This investment includes an intensive training for some of our administrative staff and Council members in the area of public relations, including training in how to handle the media, upkeep of effective social media platforms and improved communication channels. Through this part of the project we aim to equip our staff with the tools to be better able to attract media and stakeholder attention, better manage TV and radio interviews, panels of discussion as well as be better able to prepare effective public statements which reach the intended target audience appropriately.

In another part of the proposed project, we aim to provide our staff with a comprehensive course on the essentials of financial services. This will make it possible for our organisation to start providing the necessary guidance that members request on financial services. In addition, we aim to visit an employer’s organisation in the UK which already provides services in the area of financial services in order to consider the delivery of similar services by GRTU in the future.

As part of the project, we will commission a study aimed at providing a thorough understanding of the state of the MCESD as compared to the aspirations of stakeholders. We hope that this soul-searching exercise will be further discussed through a special focused meeting of the MCESD.

Finally, through the project we propose to take the GRTU and social dialogue in Malta forward. This will be done through a study on the organisation itself and how it is perceived, meeting employers’ organisations in other EU member states, drawing up a medium-term PR strategy and embarking on an awareness campaign to showcase the GRTU and promote social debate.