Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1241994
2 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 APRIL 2020 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The study indicated that, while only 18% of companies consid- er the government schemes to clearly be effective, only a mi- nority of businesses translated this into laying people off. The MEA said that, in a minor- ity of cases, this could be because some businesses might have not been affected by COVID-19. For the vasty majority of em- ployers, however, companies were using their own resources to postpone redundancies in the interest of their business and the well-being of employees, the As- sociation said. Of concern is also the fact that 31% of companies report- ed there would be increased re- dundancies should the situation remain unchanged beyond May, and almost 45% said they were uncertain on the matter. The study, published on Tues- day, surveyed 346 companies in the private sector, with a spread across all economic areas and company sizes, employing around 40,000 persons. Vast majority of companies haven't let workers go The vast majority - 91% - of companies did not make any COVID-19 redundancies. For the 9% that made redun- dancies, just over 82% had made up to 25% of their workforce re- dundant, while 12% had made half their employees redundant, and 6% had let go of more than three-quarters of their staff. Despite the low number of em- ployees which dismissed work- ers, 31.2% of respondents said they expected an increase in redundancies if the coronavirus situation persists beyond the end of May, and 44.5% said they were undecided on the matter. Only 24.3% said they did not anticipate letting go of workers should the situation go on past next month. Around 72.% of companies had implemented teleworking meas- ures for some or all of their em- ployees. Government aid 'ineffective' for relatively high number of companies The government's coronavi- rus wage supplement was being used by 52% of companies, with 66% of these businesses falling under the government Annex A (the industries most affected by the crisis). However, the largest portion of companies - 38% - said the government's financial schemes were "extremely ineffective" for their company. Around 15% said the scheme were "moderately effective", 30% said they were "neither ef- fective nor ineffective", 13% said they were "effective", while just 5% found them "extremely ef- fective". Around 48% of companies did not fall under Annexes A or B. Relative majority of employees working their full hours The survey showed that 36% of companies participating in the study had reduced the number of working hours for all their employees, 24% had put in place a reduced working schedule for some employees, and 40% had all their employees working their full hours. In terms of vacation leave, 38% of companies had enforced pro- rate leave for workers for 2020, 20% had required employees to use all this year's leave entitele- ment, while 42% had not en- forced leave. When it came to unpaid leave due to insufficient business, 22% of companies had put some workers on leave without pay- ment, 6% had placed all their employees, and 72% did not put any workers on unpaid leave. Extend aid to more companies - MEA Following the study's results, the MEA recommended that the government include more com- panies under Annexes A and B, such as those which are co-de- pendent on sectors which have been shut down. It also proposed more flex- ibility for the employment of non-EU nationals, schemes for commercial rent, a reduction of VAT rates to kick-start the economy, a government subsidy on bank interest rates on loans and overdrafts, and a reduction in utility bills. 40% of employees still working full hours amid coronavirus crisis 04 Effectiveness of government financial schemes How effective are the government financial schemes to your company? Effectiveness of government financial schemes 31.2% Of respondents perceive an increase in redundancies if the COVID-19 persists beyond the end of May 2020 44.5% Undecided 24.3% No KURT SANDONE MALTA had 20 asylum applications by unaccompanied minors in 2019, four times higher than the previous year, fig- ures released by Eurostat show. The majority of unaccompanied mi- nors who made it to Malta were So- malis and a smaller number, Ivorian. At EU level, just 5% of such appli- cants came from Somalia, with the largest group coming from Afghani- stan, at 30%. The EU countries where the most ap- plications by unaccompanied minors were processed were the United King- dom, which has since left the bloc, with 3,650 and Greece with 3,330. An asylum applicant is considered to be an unaccompanied minor if aged less than 18 and arrives on the territo- ry of the member states unaccompa- nied by an adult responsible for him. In the absence of documentary evi- dence, an age assessment procedure is used to establish the age of the appli- cant. In 2019, 13,800 asylum seekers ap- plying for international protection in the 27 EU states were considered to be unaccompanied minors, nearly 20% fewer than in 2018 (16,800), continu- ing the downward trend that started after the peak year 2015 (92,000). At the EU level, unaccompanied mi- nors accounted for 7% of all asylum applicants aged less than 18 in 2019. 2019 saw fourfold increase in number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum