Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1441473
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 JANUARY 2022 NEWS ONLINE PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON SINGLE USE PLASTICS Environment & Resources Authority Hexagon House, Spencer Hill, Marsa. Have your say on the Single Use Plas c Regula ons: • Single-Use Plas c Framework Regula ons, 2021; • Restric ons on Placing on the Market of Single-Use Plas c Products (Amendment No 2) Regula ons, 2021; and • Beverage Containers Recycling (Amendment) Regula ons, 2021 Should you be interested to par cipate in any of these online consulta on sessions, kindly register online on era.org.mt or scan the QR code indicated below by not later than Wednesday 12th January 2022. Reserva ons on first come, first saved basis. You may also submit your comments on the dra proposed Regula ons on the following email address: era.policy@era.org.mt by not later than Wednesday 9th February 2022. Comments made will be considered in the finalisa on of the Regula ons. * Stakeholders include Catering Establishments, Retailers, Importers and/or local manufacturers of the new SUP products subject to market restric ons, new product requirements including marking requirements; Economic operators subject to the new EPR obliga ons and relevant Producer responsibility organisa ons. Disclaimer: Representa ons shall be registered and made public on ERA's website, together with details of the person making the submission unless anonymity is requested in wri ng by the person submi ng his/ her representa on, in which case only the content of the representa on shall be made publicly available. Stakeholders' mee ng* Date: Monday, 17th January 2022 Time: 10:00hrs – 12:00hrs Language of presenta on: English Mee ng for general public Date: Tuesday, 18th January 2022 Time: 18:00hrs – 20:00hrs Language of presenta on: Maltese NICOLE MEILAK FRENCH ride-hailing compa- ny Heetch is setting its eyes on Malta with aims to join the cab industry. The start-up is already oper- ational in France and Belgium, as well as Morocco, Algeria and Angola. It is currently head-hunting a business development head for its Malta operations. The taxi market is already full of ride-hailing apps like Bolt, eCabs, Ryde, Bonju, Hicabs and Malta Taxi App, with their apps promising cheap prices and fast pick-up times. It is a lucrative industry that also has its dark side, with ear- ly platforms having used illicit self-employment models for gig workers who can provide customers with shot waiting times. While the gig economy pro- vides flexibility and contract work for those uninterested in nine-to-five jobs, an element of precariousness pervades the in- dustry. Last February, govern- ment ministers were warned of over 1,200 third-country nationals working for both taxi and food delivery services, on illegal work contracts in breach of Mal- ta's employ- ment laws. Some com- panies do not employ driv- ers and food delivery peo- ple direct- ly, allowing them to avoid social security obligations and driv- ing down the cost of labour. Ride-hailing platforms have enabled great consumer re- sponse who use smartphones to hail cabs, coupled with a large supply of drivers to meet this demand. The liberalisation of the taxi market was key to this development, having lifted the need to have cars garaged under one company roof, and decoupling the driver from the company offering the ride-hail- ing app. The European Commission now wants to legalise a form of employment status for plat- form workers and give addi- tional rights to those employed under algorithmic manage- ment, giving them the right to a minimum wage, collective b a r g a i n - ing, work- ing time and health p r o t e c t i o n , paid leave, p r o t e c t i o n against work accidents, un- e m p l o y m e n t and sickness benefits, as well as contributory old-age pen- sions. Maltese law already lists a set of criteria concerning the legal status of self-employed work- ers. If five of the eight criteria are fulfilled, then that self-em- ployed worker must be reclas- sified as an employee within the company it provides ser- vices for. Heetch eyes Malta's cutthroat taxi market