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3 NEWS 11.08.2022 FROM PAGE 1 e VETS proposal, which was agreed upon with the General Workers Union, the Union of Cabin Crew, the Air- line Engineers association, and the AAOC union, will of- fer €40,000 to those who have served up to five years; €80,000 to those serving 5-10 years; €120,000 for 10-15 years of ser- vice; €150,000 for 15-20 years of service; €180,000 for 20-25 years; €210,000 for 25-30; and €240,000 for those of over 30 years of service. Air Malta staff aged 50 and over are eligible for an early retirement scheme if they have served 20 years and over, to be paid two-thirds of their to- tal take-home pay, capped at a maximum €300,000. Separate meetings are being held for workers at the General Workers Union headquarters this week, where members will be asked to vote in favour or against the package. On 14 January, government announced it would create a voluntary employee transfer scheme in a bid to cut Air Mal- ta's workforce by half and save €15 million per year in wages as part of a restructuring exer- cise. On Sunday, MaltaToday re- vealed how a mid-August dead- line for the transfer scheme to be completed has been moved to October, because airline bosses fear the exodus would hamper day-to-day operations. e Nationalist Party said government's plan to make Air Malta financially viable had failed. "Clyde Caruana should come clean and speak with the same honesty he spoke with last January, and say if government's plan to restruc- ture the airline is still credible and achievable," PN Air Malta spokesperson Ivan J. Bartolo said. e scheme would see Air Malta workers being employed by the government in grades commensurate with their cur- rent income. e company re- ceived 571 applications from the 824 eligible employees when the scheme closed on 11 February. is was more than the government was expecting. Air Malta Executive Chair- man David Curmi has told MaltaToday that a final dead- line has yet to be decided and the company is in discussions with the unions. Addressing a press conference on Monday, Bartolo said the party had initially welcomed the plan, as it was similar to what it had suggested back in 2012. "I had recognised its im- portance in saving the airline, but eight months down the line it shows that not all risks and challenges were identified," he said. "Fundamental principles in change management were not recognised." He also questioned whether the airline's restructuring delay would be affecting the Europe- an Commission's approval for state aid for Air Malta. IN June 2022, the seasonally ad- justed index of industrial produc- tion increased by 4.6 per cent over the previous month. When compared to June 2021, the working-day adjusted index of industrial production fell by 0.5 per cent. After adjusting for seasonal ef- fects and the working-day pattern, the index of industrial production increased by 4.6 per cent between May and June 2022. Increases were registered in the production of consumer goods (9.5 per cent), energy (6.6 per cent) and intermediate goods (1.2 per cent). Capital goods production fell by 5.1 per cent. Annual comparison In June 2022, the total production generated by the Maltese manu- facturing, energy, and mining and quarrying industries went down by 0.5 per cent when compared to June 2021. e production of con- sumer goods and energy decreased by 2.4 per cent and 1.8 per cent re- spectively. On the other hand, production increases were registered in inter- mediate goods (3.4 per cent) and capital goods (0.7 per cent). HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. has joined the Mal- ta ESG Alliance, highlighting its ongoing commitment to decarbonise its operations and promote the transition to a net-zero economy. As part of this effort, HSBC Malta has made significant progress on a study, being carried out in conjunction with the Malta Chamber of Commerce, to make its campus at 80 Mill Street, Qormi a net-zero building and use the experience to establish a blue- print for transitioning buildings across Mal- ta into more sustainable environments. By participating in the Malta ESG Al- liance, HSBC Malta is joining 12 other leading businesses in the ambitious goal of acting as a force for good to tackle environ- mental, social and governance (ESG) mat- ters in Malta. As part of the bank's long-standing sus- tainability commitment, HSBC Malta and the Malta Chamber launched a study in 2021, which will conclude in April 2023. e study investigates the energy usage of the Qormi campus and explores ways of de- carbonising the building. In the two-year case study, leading in- dustry engineers are performing building energy modelling of the site to develop a methodology for creating a framework for assisting in establishing net zero carbon buildings. e study focuses primarily on metrics for office buildings and is the first step in carry- ing out further studies and research to help Malta achieve its decarbonisation targets. Findings and measures from the study will be applied to the buildings that constitute the Qormi campus as deemed fit. Simon Vaughan Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the HSBC Malta, said: "Consid- ering HSBC Malta's firmly established sus- tainability commitment, it is natural that we are one of the founding members of the Malta ESG Alliance, and we encourage other businesses to join in this exciting new initiative." Michel Cordina, Executive Director and Head of Business Development at HSBC Malta, said: "One of the key strategic prioir- ities of HSBC Malta on Sustainability and Climate Change is that our operations and supply chain achieve net-zero by 2030. Our material and exciting investment in our campus buildings in Qormi and the study we are conducting to provide a framework for what a new zero carbon building should look like in Malta, give us a tangible oppor- tunity to achieve our net-zero emissions target." Unions seeking members' approval for voluntary retirement scheme Seasonally-adjusted industrial production index up 4.6% in June HSBC Malta joins the Malta ESG Alliance Michel Cordina, Executive Director and Head of Business Development at HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., represented the bank at the launch of the Malta ESG Alliance 1 Kindly indicate source when quoting from this release. The advance release calendar may be consulted at www.nso.gov.mt Issued by: Dissemination Unit, National Statistics Office, Lascaris, Valletta VLT 2000, Malta. T. +356 2599 7219 F. +356 2599 7205 E. nso@gov.mt 10 August 2022 | 1100 hrs | 142/2022 In June 2022, the seasonally adjusted index of industrial production increased by 4.6 per cent over the previous month. When compared to June 2021, the working-day adjusted index of industrial production fell by 0.5 per cent. Index of Industrial Production: June 2022 Monthly comparison After adjusting for seasonal effects and the working-day pattern, the index of industrial production increased by 4.6 per cent between May and June 2022. Increases were registered in the production of consumer goods (9.5 per cent), energy (6.6 per cent) and intermediate goods (1.2 per cent). Capital goods production fell by 5.1 per cent (Table 2). Annual comparison In June 2022, the total production generated by the Maltese manufacturing, energy, and mining and quarrying industries went down by 0.5 per cent when compared to June 2021. The production of consumer goods and energy decreased by 2.4 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively. On the other hand, production increases were registered in intermediate goods (3.4 per cent) and capital goods (0.7 per cent) (Table 4) date: 2022 https://twitter.com/NSOMALTA/ https://www.facebook.com/nsomalta/ Compiled by: Short-term Business Statistics Unit Contact us: National Statistics Office, Lascaris, Valletta VLT 2000 T. +356 25997219, E. nso@gov.mt Chart 1. Annual working-day adjusted variation (% change over corresponding month of the previous year) -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J 2020 2021 2022 percentage change t / t-12 period Annual working-day adjusted variation (% change over corresponding month of the previous year) Ivan J. Bartolo

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