Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1258061
11.06.2020 2 NEWS MASSIMO COSTA THE number of companies which ex- pect to lay off workers in the coming months has decreased compared to the situation during the height of the coro- navirus pandemic, an employers' associ- ation survey shows. A study conducted by the Malta Em- ployers Association on COVID-19 busi- ness and employment projections, pub- lished on Wednesday, shows that 20% of the 253 businesses surveyed expected an increase in redundancies in the next three months. A similar survey conducted by the MEA in April, in the middle of the COV- ID-19 crisis, indicated that 31% of busi- nesses believed they might have needed to lay-off workers. is latest MEA survey was conduct- ed between 27 May to 3 June, before the government's unveiling this week of its €900 million economic recovery plan. It surveyed 253 respondents, representing 300 companies, and employing 30,000 persons. e survey shows that 34% of respond- ents did not expect any increased redun- dancies in the next three months, while 46% were still undecided. MEA director general Joseph Farrugia, who was addressing a press conference about the survey's results, said the meas- ures announced by the government this week could serve to lower the percent- age of employers which were still unsure whether they would let go of workers. In terms of redundancies which have already taken place, the results show that while only 9% of businesses had laid off workers according to the April study, the most recent survey indicates that 17% of enterprises had let go of some workers. Amongst those companies which did make some redundancies, the vast major- ity - 88% - let go of only up to 25% of their workers, while only 2% laid off up to 75%. e relatively small portion of com- panies which expected redundancies in the next months, however, showed that mass unemployment did not appear to be on the horizon, Farrugia said. "is shows there will be no apoca- lypse on the Maltese economy. It is pos- sible that unemployment will rise [in the short-term], but over the period of a year the levels could more or less return to how they were pre-COVID," he said. e fact that, when surveyed - before the announcement of the economic package - almost half of respondents were still uncertain if they would dis- miss any employees over the next three months highlighted how timely the government's positive economic inter- vention this week was, Farrugia under- scored. "While jobs will be lost, better weather will come. For some businesses it may come quickly, for others it will take more time. In the next couple of months, un- employment might not drop, since it will take months - or even years - for all com- panies to recover. But if businesses start seeing a ray of light, this will make them more confident that they won't sink," he said. Despite this, Farrugia reiterated the MEA's position that wage supplements - which have been reduced under the new economic package - should have been kept in place at their full force until Sep- tember. Most companies which responded to the survey, however, did not give high scores in terms of the effectiveness of the government schemes when it came to avoiding lay-offs. Loss of business experienced by most enterprises Although the negative effects of the pandemic on redundancies was relative- ly contained, 87% of survey respondents reported a loss of business due to COV- ID-19. Only 3% said their business in- creased, while 10% reported no effect. Of the respondents that reported a loss of business, 33% reported a loss of over 75%. Fifty-two percent of such business- es operate in the hospitality industry. Recovery time of over 18 months expected by significant portion Most respondents - 54% - said they expected their business activity to even- tually recover, while 32% said they didn't know if it would, and 13% said it would not. Amongst those expecting a recovery, the largest portion - 27% - said they thought it would take over 18 months, while 26% said things could take be- tween a year to a year and a half to get back to normal. "is could indicate that the govern- ment might need to extend some of its aid measures, to a certain degree," Far- rugia noted. No unemployment 'apocalypse' expected, MEA survey indicates When companies were asked whether they are expecting an eventual recovery of business activity to pre-COVID-19 levels, 54% said 'Yes', 13% said 'No' while 32% said 'Don't Know' MATTHEW VELLA A staggering 89% of Maltese believe corruption in Malta is "widespread" and this sentiment grew by 10 points in just two years. A Eurobarometer survey gauged public sentiment on corruption with 500 face-to-face interviews were car- ried out between 6 and 9 December 2019, at the height of the political cri- sis prompted by the arrest of Tumas magnate Yorgen Fenech on suspicion of being the mastermind in the Daph- ne Caruana Galizia assassination. e figure is higher than the EU28 average of 71%. Only 5% of Maltese respondents said corruption was "rare" in Malta. Over two years between Labour's re-election in 2017, the Maltese also said corruption had increase – this figure of respondents grew by 20 points to 74%, again way higher than the 42% EU average. e Maltese said they agreed that there was corruption in local coun- cils (71%) and in national institutions (79%). And again growing by 22 points over two years, 54% of respondents de- clared they were personally affected by corruption in daily life. 35% disa- greed with the statement. e Maltese said bribes in political parties were widespread (60% said 'yes'), as well as to politicians per- sonally (48%), in the award of build- ing permits (49%), business permits (39%), and among police (34%). e Maltese said corruption was mainly caused by the close links be- tween politics and business (82%), and that favouritism hampered business competition (77%). ey also believe corruption is part of business culture in Malta (71%) and in the most con- trasting view to the EU average, that succeeding in business requires polit- ical connections (70% vs 51%). Despite these beliefs, only 7% claimed they had witnessed a case of corruption in the last 12 months. But 35% said there was no protection for those who report corruption, and 33% said those responsible go unpun- ished. e survey, conducted in Decem- ber, also gave wide berth to the police, with 43% trusting the corps to han- dle their corruption complaint, even more than the courts (12%) and EU institutions (14%). Despite this belief of widespread corruption, the Maltese were less inclined than EU counterparts to be- lieve that giving money (9% said it was acceptable as against 85%), gifts (19% vs 75%), or favours (14% vs 80%) was acceptable to obtain something from public administration. Sentiment that corruption is widespread has grown by 10 points in two years