The Federation of Industry has said that once again it deplores the fact that the social partners were not consulted on this issue of national importance, and which so strongly affects the members of the Federation.
The FOI said that the revised surcharge will affect industry both directly, and indirectly, the latter including increase in transport and material costs, supporting services and potential labour demands. This is expected to have a significant impact on all sectors across industry, with thousands of Small and Medium sized enterprises suffering the harshest blow.
Concerned members commented that they were still recovering from the increased operating costs triggered by the tightening of operating standards following Malta’s accession into the EU, leading to a decline in profits and profitability. This increased burden will be difficult to absorb entirely by the companies themselves, and could only lead to price increases or scale-down of operations. Other members remarked that due to long-term contractual arrangements, the increase in surcharge will negatively impact their finances as they could not pass on the increased costs to their clients.
The FOI said it also stresses the importance of renewable energy efforts. The need for energy efficiency support measures is evident now more than ever, thus the necessary framework and implementation of these measures should be the topmost item on the agenda concerning industry. The Federation added that it urges the Government to make good its promise of Structural Funds, in order for industry to be able to invest in energy efficient processes, alternative sources of energy, as well as educate employees about the conservation of energy. These have to be undertaken without further delay and the Federation would like to see a concrete short-term mitigating action plan as well as a long-term renewable investment plan to reduce the dependency on oil.
The Federation concluded by saying that it welcomes the fact that the capping system has been retained, as otherwise this would have caused intense ramifications across industry.