The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) held its last council meeting for the year 2022.

/in /by

Following the conclusion of the ESF program entitled “Enhancing Social and Civil Dialogue Through Evidence-Based Research” by MCESD, Dr. Silvio Debono, the managing director of IDEA Advisory Limited and the project’s leader, was tasked with explaining the project’s findings to the social partners. Dr. Debono highlighted that the initiative comprised both training for MCESD workers and extensive research on four theme topics. The training has equipped the MCESD personnel with the skills necessary to continue fulfilling the needs of their members in the social dialogue process and to communicate their message effectively. The four research studies conducted as part of this project were presented to the social partners at the council meeting.

They were:

  1. Enhancing Female Participation in Social Dialogue;
  2. Improving the Technical Capacity of Social Partners;
  3. Expanding Investments in R&D and in the New Economy;
  4. Reduction of Greenhouse Gases.

The complete reports are available on the MCESD website, and the presentation is accessible here.

Following talks with the EU representative office in Malta, the MCESD invited two European Semester Officers to brief the social partners on the EU and Malta’s shared goals under the European Semester, the Recovery and Resilience Plan, and RePowerEU. This meeting was attended by the acting head of the EU Commission Representation Office in Malta, Brian Buhagiar.

These topics were presented to the social partners:

  • The most significant socioeconomic difficulties confronting Malta, as outlined in the Commission’s country-specific proposals for 2022-2023;
  • Annual Sustainable Growth Survey of the EU for 2023: equity, environmental sustainability, productivity, and macroeconomic stability;
  • The status and execution of Malta’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, including the involvement and contributions of social partners and other stakeholders;
  • RepowerEU for Malta: investments and reforms to facilitate the green transition.

The presentation can be accessed from here.

Mr. James Pearsall, chairperson of the MCESD, announced during this meeting that his tenure as chairman of the MCESD would continue until December 31, 2022, owing to the assumption of a new position.

The Parliamentary Secretary, Dr. Andy Ellul, congratulated Mr. Pearsall on his new position and praised him for his outstanding work at MCESD. Dr. Ellul said that he will communicate with the social partners on the selection of a new chairman to continue Mr. Pearsall’s excellent work and to continue enhancing social dialogue in Malta.

The social partners congratulated Mr. James Pearsall for doing his duties with enthusiasm and wished him well in his new employment.