Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1037099
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 OCTOBER 2018 REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS ATTENTION ALL FOUNDATIONS & ASSOCIATIONS As Per the Regula�ons in Legal No�ces 375 & 376 of 2017: ALL FOUNDATIONS & ASSOCIATIONS ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THEIR BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP TO THE REGISTRAR FOR LEGAL PERSONS, AT THE PUBLIC REGISTRY, AT IDENTITY MALTA. The Regula�ons came into effect as from the 1 st of January 2018, to implement Direc�ve (EU) 849/2015 on the preven�on of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing. Please note as follows: All founda�ons & associa�ons, sports organisa�ons, coopera�ves & any other organisa�on, not being exempted in the said Regula�ons, WHETHER REGISTERED OR NOT in terms of any law, & WHETHER ESTABLISHED BEFORE OR AFTER 1 st January 2018, are required to comply. Informa�on on the legal term 'beneficial ownership' & on the method of submission of the required form may be obtained from the website of the Registrar for Legal Persons h�ps://iden�tymalta.com/legalpersons. The form to be ini�ally submi�ed is Form 1 – Submission of Ini�al Informa�on, which is found on the same webpage. For further informa�on, kindly contact the Office of the Registrar for Legal Persons, at the Public Registry, Malta, Evans Building Level 1, Merchants Street, Valle�a, via telephone on 25904108/9 or via email to hilary.grech@gov.mt & rochelle.magri@gov.mt ALL ORGANISATIONS ARE URGED TO COMPLY WITHOUT DELAY NEWS JAMES DEBONO A scientific survey based on a representative sample of 781 employees has revealed that on- ly one-third of Maltese workers are members of a trade union – a far cry from official figures which suggest that between 53% and 59% of workers in Malta are unionised. The results of the study pub- lished on Xjenza Online by in- dustrial relations expert Manwel Debono, backs earlier studies by his colleague Godfrey Baldac- chino who has been questioning official figures since 2007. Trade union density measure- ments in Malta are based on the total number of reported trade union members – taken from the annual returns of the Regis- trar of Trade Unions – as a pro- portion of the total labour force. In the survey a third of re- spondents (33.8%) confirmed that they are trade union mem- bers. Slightly less than half of the respondents (47.8%) have nev- er joined a trade union, while 18.4% used to be trade union members. According to Manwel Debono the discrepancy in trade union density figures deriving from this survey and official admin- istrative data "is too large to be solely attributable to possible errors in the survey" and "in- dicates that research based on official data might be offering a substantially inflated picture of Surveys reveal just 33% are trade union members Are Maltese trade union membership figures inf lated? Two studies now seem to suggest so unionisation in Malta." He also calls on trade unions to wake up and face reality. "Facing and accepting what might be a gloomier reality than what appears on paper, might provide the motivation and ingenuity required for unions to reorganise themselves and improve their operations in or- der to attract and retain more members". The survey results still suggest that trade union membership is higher than the EU average of about 23% and the official sta- tistics suggest that Malta has similar trade union member- ship as Scandinavia. This study also indicates that nearly a fifth (18.4%) of all em- ployees in Malta aged between 15 and 64 ceased to be trade un- ion members at some point. Apart from suggesting a lower trade union membership level than what is officially reported the study also indicates that the likelihood of being a trade un- ion member increases among older employees, those who are in full-time or indefinite con- tracts, and those employed in the public sector. On the other hand, contrary to European trends, employees holding tertiary qualifications and higher-level occupations are more likely to be unionised in Malta. Whereas only 26.1% of employees with a second- ary or primary level of educa- tion claim they are trade union members, the figure rises to 45.1% among employees with a tertiary level of education. According to Debono, work- ers with a higher education might better appreciate the workplace role of trade un- ions than lower qualified ones. Trade union membership is particularly higher among fe- male workers. "Lower quali- fied women are particularly detached from trade unions, while the highly qualified ones are more unionised than their male counterparts". This finding can also be at- tributed to the fact that a sub- stantial percentage of highly qualified women work in edu- cation and healthcare, the two most highly unionised sectors in Malta. Debono concludes that the "rather traditionally-orient- ed trade union movement in Malta", is not sufficiently effec- tive in attracting and retaining younger workers, part-time workers, workers on definite contracts and those in the pri- vate sector, especially in smaller organisations. "The traditional cadre of un- ion members is set to continue declining in the coming years due to economic, organisa- tional and demographic trends. Thus, unless unions in Malta reorganise themselves and re- focus their strategies, trade union density and membership are likely to drop."