Business Briefs - June 26, 2008

State-of-the-art showroom

Satariano, exclusive representatives for world leading brands such as Ideal Standard, Porcelanosa and Scic Cucine, recently refurbished the first floor of their flagship showroom in Valley Road, Birkirkara.

The newly refurbished floor in their state-of-the-art showroom is a vision of beauty and comfort created through well-planned spaces. They offer a selection of flooring styles ranging from classic to avant-garde designs. The colour palette and extensive variety of finishes produced by world leading manufactures means that the area is guaranteed to meet the requirements of any space and satisfy all tastes.

Satariano feel committed to keep their showroom up to date with current trends and are constantly updating in order to offer customers the very latest innovative designs and fittings.

Spread over 1,700 sqm, the Satariano showroom displays products that combine beauty and originality, integrating ceramic tiles, parquet flooring, kitchens, bathroom units and sanitary ware, hydro massage baths and showers, mixer taps and accessories. The showroom has the ideal setting in which to display the products to the best effect.

New collective agreement for MIA employees

MIA plc has signed a new collective agreement jointly with the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin and the General Workers' Union, the trade unions that represent the interests of the majority of MIA employees.

The agreement includes a number of additional benefits, such as an increase in salary for all employees, partly due to the fact that a number of anomalies in the salaries' structures have now been addressed. Furthermore, all employees will now have a new life assurance policy cover and additional benefits on the existing accident insurance policy, as well as a new retirement benefit. More importantly, the new agreement covers a period of seven years, from 2007 to 2013.

MIA's chief executive officer Julian Jaeger expressed his satisfaction that the collective agreement had been finalised. "I thank both unions, the employees who represented their colleagues during the negotiations, as well as MIA's representatives for their contribution to successfully conclude this agreement. MIA employees will now benefit from further improved working conditions which will add more value to their employment; this is vital in order to improve the quality of service we are committed to provide."

The negotiations were led by Roderick Bajada, MIA's head of HR and administration, assisted by MIA's legal counsel Ron Galea Cavallazzi and the industrial relations consultant Alfred Mallia Milanes. The representatives of the GWU were Charles Agius, secretary of the maritime and aviation section and Ronald Butler, assistant secretary of the same section, while Jesmond Bonello, assistant secretary general and Martin Caruana, secretary of the port and trade section, represented the UĦM.

MIA employees were represented by their colleagues Bartholomew Micallef, John Gouder, Raymond Attard, Michael Cumbo and Anthony Mercieca on behalf of the GWU, and Joseph Borg, Etienne Mifsud, Stephen Brincat and Josef Mallia on behalf of the UĦM.

Annual conference in Malta

Exporta Publishing Events recently hosted its trade and supply chain solutions Europe event in Malta recently.

The conference was sponsored by FIMBank, the Malta-based trade finance specialist, S1 Enterprise, a leading provider of integrated banking solutions, and The Bank of New York Mellon, a global leader in the provision of a comprehensive array of banking services.

The event attracted a large gathering of senior level decision-makers and professionals from all business areas interested in trade and supply chain solutions and allowed great networking opportunities to all delegates.