Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1347847
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 MARCH 2021 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Maltese are among the most likely in Europe to favour more decision-making at a Eu- ropean level on a wide variety of social issues, a survey by Euro- barometer reveals. They are also the most keen to see Europe take action ad- dressing work-life balance and wages. When asked to state in which three social issues (out of 15 mentioned) on which the Eu- ropean Union should focus, 31% mentioned the work-life balance in contrast to just 10% of all EU respondents. 29% also think that this should be a priority for the Maltese government in contrast to 11% of EU respondents, who think this should be a priority for their national government. The survey was held in De- cember and coincided with the presentation of a report by Labour MEP Alex Agius Sal- iba on the right to disconnect after work hours, and may re- flect the new reality brought about by the pandemic which has seen more people working from home. The survey also shows that 26% of Maltese want EU action on wages while a further 17% want action on minimum in- comes. But when asked on what should be the main priority for the Maltese government in preparing for the future of Eu- rope, 35% replied wages while 23% mentioned 'minimum in- come'. With regards to what should be the priorities of the nation- al government, wages were the most frequently mentioned item in seven countries: Hun- gary (50%), Croatia (47%), Lithuania (39%), Poland (38%), Cyprus (36%), Malta (35%) and France (29%). The survey also shows that a large majority of respondents in each EU Member State be- lieve that there should be more decision-making at European level for 'promoting decent working conditions in the EU and abroad'. The result contrasts with the opposition of the Maltese par- liament to a proposed EU di- rective regulating minimum wages based on the principle that wages remain the prerog- ative of nation states in respect of the principle of subsidiarity. While support for more EU decision making on working conditions stands at 76% in Malta, nine in ten respondents share this opinion in Slovenia (91%), Greece and Cyprus (90% in both countries). At the other end of the scale, less than two- thirds of respondents hold this view in Slovakia (59%), Poland (61%) and Romania (63%). In Malta, support for more European decision-making on working conditions came on- ly second to action on climate change, which is supported by 79% of Maltese respondents. Like other Europeans, the Maltese were the least keen on support for digitization and automation, with less than 60% supporting more Europe on this specific issue. In all 27 EU Member States, over two-thirds of respond- ents say that a social Europe is important to them personally, with the highest scores being recorded in Portugal (98%), Spain (95%) Ireland (94%) Malta (90%), and the lowest in Finland (69%), Estonia (78%), Czechia and Romania (79% in both countries). In ten EU Member States, over half of respondents state that a social Europe is 'very impor- tant' to them personally, most notably in Ireland (61%), Malta (59%) and Slovenia (57%). Maltese keenest on EU action on work-life balance and wages Eurobarometer survey shows that Maltese want more Europe on working conditions and social policy Environment/Climate 79 76 Working conditions 76 74 Gender equality 73 70 Education 71 63 Health issues 69 61 Job Creation 65 65 Social Security 62 59 Promoting automation 59 60 Malta EU Work life balance 31 10 Wages 26 25 Equal opportunities 22 16 Health care 23 34 Education 21 24 Pensions 20 23 Minimum Income 17 12 Promoting automation 59 60 Malta EU % Maltese who want 'more Europe', by subject Top 7 issues where EU should prepare for future In their analysis, they found that Lidl was the preferred supermarket for around 27% of respondents who do their main shopping from a va- riety of supermarkets. For those who shop consistently at the same supermarket, the preferred option was PAVI/ PAMA, with 24% of respond- ents opting for those outlets. Lidl has undoubtedly built a reputation as one of Malm- ta's foremots discount stores. Nearly 80% of respondents agreed that Lidl is a discount store, and 90% of Lidl cus- tomers perceive the super- market's products as being cheaper than those of rival companies. Further to this, 70% of Lidl customers found Lidl's promotions to be more attractive than those offered by other supermarkets. A MaltaToday survey in 2016 showed similar results. Nearly half of all respond- ents bought most frequently from Lidl outlets. In second place, 15% of respondents answered that Pavi was their most frequented supermar- ket. While Lidl clearly domi- nates in popularity, it's of- ten not the only supermar- ket customers buy from. In MaltaToday survey, 63% of respondents who shopped from Lidl also shopped at other supermarkets. Methodology Revenue from operations were the focus of the evalu- ation. Due to limitations on the information available, some figures reflect 2017's operations while others are a snapshot of the company's 2018 financial position. Only Lidl's financial values reflect 2019. To calculate turnover share, we used the total turn- over value for retail sale in non-specialised stores as a whole, and with food and beverages as the predomi- nant selling product in the unit. Retail sale in non-special- ised stores include the retail sale of a variety of product lines within a singular unit, including supermarkets or department stores. Turno- ver here comprises all mar- ket sales of goods or services supplied to third parties, in- cluding duties and taxes, and all other charges to custom- ers.