Malta fund to help textile workers
The European Commission has approved a funding application from Malta for assistance under the European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF). The application will now be sent to the European Parliament and Council, where a final decision will be made. The funding is to help 675 redundant workers in the textiles sector back into employment. The total estimated cost of the assistance package is €1.3 million ($1.9 million), of which the European Commission has been asked to co-fund €681,207.
EU employment commissioner, Vladimír Špidla, said: "Malta is a small country where a relatively limited number of redundancies can have a big impact. I am confident that the EGF will help take the edge off the job losses by assisting the Maltese authorities in getting these workers back into the labour market".
The application came after two Maltese textiles manufacturing companies, VF and Bortex, unexpectedly closed part or all of their operations in the counntry. VF, part of the multinational VF Corporation, closed its factory in Malta in July 2007 with 562 redundancies, while Bortex decided to close down part of its Maltese operation in September, resulting in 113 job losses. With its small labour market, the redundancies represent 0.4% of the active population.
