Last Updated on Friday, 8 July, 2022 at 2:31 pm by Andre Camilleri
From hospitality to trade, civilians and vendors within all industries, across all nations, are feeling the negative effects of inflation. In Malta, everything from locally-made bread, cheeses, and dry goods, to toiletries and home essentials, has gone up in price in recent months, with the global inflationary trend not escaping the island’s shores.
Food inflation specifically has increased worldwide, with Malta’s levels soaring above average within the Eurozone, due to the island’s dependency on imports. Analysts site issues such as supply chain bottlenecks exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, higher energy costs, extreme weather conditions, and the ongoing effect of the Russia-Ukraine war. All of which result in greater hits to the pocket, especially worrying for those already struggling to put food on the table.
For this reason, Iniala’s founder and philanthropist, Mark Weingard felt it was his duty and obligation to support his staff, across all levels and departments equally, to counter the growing cost of living with an equal pay rise of Euro1,000 annually for every Iniala staff member. In his words:
“Our employees have been through a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic but we have always managed to look after them. The Post-Covid period and Ukrainian war has led to huge inflation that has affected our employees’ ability to afford the basic necessities. For this reason, we decided to give all of our team members a pay increase to help offset these rising costs and live a more comfortable life. My team has always looked after our guests and it’s only natural that we wish to take care of their welfare too”
The news was well-received by appreciative staff members and serves as a reminder of the Iniala Group’s ‘people first’ approach and community-giving spirit. This act of consideration and ultimately solidarity in testing times is a true representation of Mr. Weingard’s values and the example that he continuously strives to set with Iniala since the group’s conception, with the hope to inspire a chain of positive reaction throughout the country.
