25-31 October 2000

Local News BA fine sends ripples around TV stations The fine which the Broadcasting Authority meted out to NET TV last week over excessive advertising has highlighted the struggle that media companies are facing to survive in the cut-throat business. Rinella movie park post mortem needed Rinella Movie Park may have managed to keep open if tour operators had lent a helping hand, according to the Director General of the Association of General Retailers and Traders. Mobile companies get ready to respond With the launch of mobile phone company Go Mobile just six weeks away, competition in the mobile phone sector appears to be hotting up. By Nadine Brincat Gozo Business Chamber joins EU Network of Insular Chambers The motion was approved during the first General Assembly of this network, which was followed by a two-day forum entitled "The Sustainable Development of Insular SMEs in View of Globalisation".			Just when is enough enough? The fate of unionism in Malta By Saviour Balzan There is little or no doubt that the General Workers Union is the largest and most influential union in the country – but this does not make it more responsible. Last Friday, hundreds of Labour party and GWU supporters gathered in Valletta and peacefully expressed outrage at the government. When members of the public were asked by Super One journalists why they were protesting, the elderly militants retorted that they could not live comfortably and they were finding it difficult to make ends meet. It follows that one should question Tony Zarb and even his proposals for addressing this situation. But there are no concrete ideas for confronting this scenario. If Mr Zarb is thinking of suggesting a reduction in public expenditure, a move away from foreign grants and an efficient and equitable collection of taxes – he need say absolutely nothing – because those are already being taken care of by the Finance Minister, John Dalli. And if he is very concerned about the future tax compliance unit, he need only wait for the coming months to see if it is a fairy tale or not. The GWU’s secretary general may choose to argue that the structural deficit is a result of bad governance and economic policy. Then again, the investment programmes commissioned by the government in the last 13 years have contributed to taking us out of the lethargic economic atmosphere of the eighties. Some politicians continue to champion this time period, however. And one such politician is Dr Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici - who for far too long has been a consultant to the GWU. Speaking on Radio Malta 2, the former premier sang praise about his decision way back in the 1987 election to employ over 6,000 workers – a move seen then as a ploy win votes for the Labour Party. "Better employed, than unemployed," screeched KMB – yet this mental disposition apart from scandalous uncovers a dangerous trend. No wonder the union’s strategy is bogged down in the Scargillean philosophy – perhaps this is the time for change – in the union too!

The Business Times, Network House, Vjal ir-Rihan San Gwann SGN 07 | Tel: (356) 382741-3, 382745-6 | Fax: (356) 385075
Editor: Saviour Balzan
e-mail: [email protected]