Malta’s association of catering establishments welcome extension of COVID wage supplement

The Association of Catering Establishments (ACE) on Monday welcomed a recent announcement by Malta Enterprise that the Wage Supplement to employees whose companies have been impacted by COVID-19 pandemic will be retained till the end of May 2022.

The announcement follows fruitful discussions between ACE and the Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise, the association said.

ACE remarked that it feels such extension will help local catering establishments recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as help alleviate the constant struggle to source, manage and retain human resources.

War in Ukraine

ACE further commented that the extension “will also help cushion the direct and indirect impact of the war in Ukraine on the industry. Above all, the wage supplement extension will help catering establishments gear up for the upcoming summer season.”

On Sunday, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that Government has allocated millions to keep flour prices stable. The assistance will be offered to food importers on condition that they do not raise prices, and comes as a response to the war in Ukraine, as this has placed massive pressure on wheat prices with both Russia and Ukraine being major producers and exporters of grain.

The announcement will be welcomed by Malta’s catering establishments, which have had to raise their own prices to keep up with rising costs from food importers.