GLOBALISATION ADJUSTMENT FUND : FUND TO HELP 675 WORKERS IN MALTA.

• Position: Brief article

The European Commission has approved an application from Malta for assistance under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). The funding will help 675 redundant workers in the textiles sector back into employment.aThe application will now be sent to the European Parliament and Council for decision.

The application came after two Maltese textiles manufacturing companies - VF and Bortex - unexpectedly closed all or part of their operations in Malta. 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.

SIGNIFICANT

With its small labour market, the redundancies represent 0.4% of Malta's active population. The redundancies were unexpected as both companies had recently invested in their Maltese...