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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 15 APRIL 2015 7 MIRIAM DALLI AN active ageing policy launched by the government sought to repre- sent "a new dawn for Maltese ageing policy", encouraging the elderly to remain in the labour market beyond retirement age and leading an inde- pendent life. But a year and five months later, elderly still struggle with age dis- crimination: according to the presi- dent of the Malta Union of Teachers Kevin Bonello, "ageism exists indi- rectly". Trade unions – or less than half of them – yesterday participated in a seminar on active ageism organ- ised by the national forum for trade unions, under the auspices of Presi- dent of the Republic Marie Louise Coleiro Preca. Coleiro Preca, who piloted the policy during her few months as minister for social solidarity, urged trade unions to be the "catalysts of change" in pushing for a change in mentality whereby the elderly are encouraged to keep on working or actively participate in society. "As long as the person is in good health, there should be nothing that stops the elderly from remaining active in the social, economic and political sectors," the President said, adding that trade unions must en- sure that elderly workers are given the opportunity to remain activity, minimising the risks of vulnerabil- ity. "We have to push for the changes that are needed, even within the legislative framework. This must be accompanied by a culture and men- tality," she said. Coleiro Preca said that vulnerable people risked being exploited unless certain laws regulating work were not going to be tackled. She said Malta could become a European model for active ageing. Pointing out that one in every four persons in Europe was poor, Coleiro Preca in- sisted on the importance of employ- ment as a means of minimising the risk of falling in the poverty trap. The seminar on active ageing was however poorly attended by the trade unions. During an open discussion chaired by Saviour Rizzo, research support officer at the Centre for Labour Studies, unionists said active age- ing was about elderly working for economic reasons, remaining active both physically and mentally, and also participate at community level. William Portelli, president of the Confederation of Malta Trade Un- ions (CMTU), pointed out that with age come wisdom and experience. He explained how workers who reach retirement age could provide consultancy works while employers could make it easier for them to re- main in employment by becoming more flexible in their work hours. Portelli conceded that unions "didn't really understand" what ac- tive ageing was about, stressing on the importance of working on it from day one. Workers' unions said sometimes pensioners found it difficult to adapt to life without work and those who choose to keep on working should not be hindered from doing so. Some however expressed concern that more youths could find their work opportunities closed if more people remain longer in the work- force. The criticism was noted by parliamentary secretary for the eld- erly Justyne Caruana who said that a balance would be sought between new people joining the workforce and the elderly who had still a lot more to contribute to society. Caruana added that active ageing also included the voluntary work which the elderly carried out. Malta was the first country, in 1968, to bring a motion before the United Nations that called for an action plan on the world's ageing population. In 1987, Malta was one of the first countries whose minis- terial cabinet included a parliamen- tary secretary for the elderly. According to Dr Marvin Formosa, a gerontologist, it is projected that by 2050, those aged 15-64 will de- crease to 59.5% when compared to the present 69.1%. Those above this age group will increase from 13.7% to 28.2%. In both the male and female groups, the rate of employment of those aged over 55 is much lower than the European average. How- ever, those in employment retire at the same age as their European counterparts. The number of pensioners who re- mained active in the workforce was of 11,000, marking 1.9%. Across the EU27, this figure goes up to 5.6%. According to Formosa, 67% of those who remain in employment were employees, while only 13% were employers. The rest were self- employed. "It is important that we keep training our workers, irrespective of their age, while providing healthy working conditions and be sensitive to the needs of elderly workers," For- mosa said, adding that age manage- ment in companies was important. Formosa said there should be a reconciliation of work and care em- ployment services for older workers, while mitigating against ageism and age discrimination and pushing for employment-friendly tax/benefit systems. The seminar was also addressed by PN spokesman for the elderly Robert Cutajar. News Age discrimination a barrier for active ageism: trade unions urged to step up work Drafting of police force strategy underway MARTINA BORG THE planning of a new strategy to make the police corps more profes- sional was launched yesterday by National Security Minister Carmelo Abela, who announced it at a consul- tation meeting for the corps. "The strategy is expected to be published towards the end of this year, and it will focus on three main sectors, namely training, internal administrative reorganisation and modernisation of the Police corps," Abela said. "Our vision is that of having a more professional and accountable police force that is closer to the people." Abela said that the framework sees the need to have a more motivated force that enjoys the respect and trust of society, as well as the need to have more investment for the training and education of the forces. "Concerns around the presence of police officials in the community through more patrolling and surveil- lance, will also be addressed through this framework," Abela added, say- ing that the strategy would also be addressing the renovation of police stations. According to Abela the plans would ensure that the working environment for those working at stations would be more respectful and that they would also address accessibility problems for the disabled in the stations. "The framework of this strategy will give attention to everyday reali- ties and difficulties encountered by members of the police force in vari- ous aspects, including the operative, tactical, logistical, technological and administrative sectors." The minister added that this would ensure that the force would continue to be strengthened to face current challenges and prepare for future challenges. "We need to work hard to obtain the public's respect and our aim is to have a police force that offers the best possible service to the community," Abela said, adding that they would be working hard to improve the positive characteristics already present. "We need to be auto-critical and go outside our comfort zones and not fear change, which will give the po- lice force the necessary tools to work better." Abela added that the consultative meetings had revealed the optimism and enthusiasm of the police force to continue offering the best possible service. Download the MaltaToday App now Access to credit and competitiveness remain SMEs' main challenges Survey on access to finance shows Maltese SMEs still find restrictive credit conditions and high costs for external financing MAT THEW VELLA DETAILS of the survey on access to finance of enterprises (SAFE) in the EU, published in the Central Bank 's annual report, have high- lighted competition as the prior- ity concern of SMEs in Malta, in- creasing from around 16% in 2011 to slightly less than 29% in 2014. But access to finance is still an important problem: increasing from 4.7% in 2011 to 11.5% in 2014 as a problem highlighted by SMEs. Some 99.8% of businesses in Malta, 30,500, are SMEs employ- ing 98,000 people, or 78% of the total workforce. They report having a harder time obtaining credit from banks than larger firms, usually because they don't have high quality col- lateral, or relevant proof of their creditworthiness. In 2014 more than 70% of Maltese SMEs used external financing, compared with around 37% in the European Union. Without access to credit, SMEs have to resort to retained earn- ings. Credit standards were tightened considerably by banks in Malta in 2013, leading to a significant reduction in the number of firms which successfully applied for credit. But the number of firms apply- ing for bank loans, trade credit, overdrafts and credit lines gradu- ally increased from 2011 to 2014. In 2014 between 25% and 33% of respondent firms applied for one of these types of financing instru- ments, with trade credit register- ing the largest demand. An improvement in credit sup- ply conditions was registered in 2014, with a rise in the percent- age of firms that applied and got everything in all the three types of finance categories, compared with 2013. Meanwhile, the percentage of firms that only had a fraction of their original loan accepted fell slightly. But credit conditions in 2014 were still somewhat tighter than those prevailing in 2011. A small percentage of firms also refused to take up a bank loan offer because costs were deemed to be too high. The SAFE surveys show that in the EU as a whole, SMEs were charged a median interest rate of 5% on overdraft and trade credit between April and September 2014. On the other hand, interest rates on these facilities for Mal- tese SMEs stood at 5.70% during this period, which is at the higher end of the European range. Interest rate developments dif- fered significantly between coun- tries, with the median interest rate being the highest in Greece and Cyprus, at around 8%, and the lowest in Luxembourg, at 2.00%. SMEs in Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland and France also paid a relatively low interest rate, with the median level standing at 3.00%. 23% of respondent firms also reported an increase in inter- est rates in 2014, while only 14% reported a decrease and, for the remaining 62.0%, interest rates remained unchanged – suggesting that the interest rate pass-through in Malta is sluggish and that the transmission of changes in policy rates to the retail rates charged by banks has weakened even further after the crisis. In 2014, 44% of domestic firms reported an increase in banking costs, while only 7% reported a de- cline. In contrast, 39% of firms in the EU reported a rise in financing costs compared with the preced- ing year, while 9% reported a de- crease in costs.