The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry welcomes the investment of €470 million, over an eight-year period, in the infrastructure of the Manufacturing sector, which was announced by Government.
The manufacturing sector remains a fundamental pillar of the country’s economic stability, and requires all the support it can be afforded, especially in a rapidly shifting economic landscape worldwide, if we want to guarantee its future competitiveness.
The Malta Chamber looks forward to learning more about the detail of this project, as well as Government’s solid plans of how the investment will be financed, ascertaining its implementation. As it has always done, the Chamber shall provide its constructive and researched feedback, which will reflect the needs of the operators in the field.
The Malta Chamber is also deeply concerned about the current serious challenges being faced by the Manufacturing sector which are making survival of this crucial part of our economy harder by the day.
The Malta Chamber notes that more than half of OECD countries have lowered the burden of employers to finance paid sick leave, while most governments finance any paid sick leave in case of quarantine. Locally, employers have even been burdened with an extra day of leave, during one of the most challenging years to date. It is therefore not surprising that Manufacturing operators are finding it extremely hard to reconcile the fact that their output is falling significantly while their wage bill remains almost the same. This situation is only exacerbated by the high utility costs faced by the sector.
The Malta Chamber, as the country’s foremost representative of the Manufacturing industry remains available to provide insight and assist Government, towards a sustainable way forward that benefits all.