Three-quarters of Malta Chamber businesses prefer to retain summer time, according to a survey. 

The survey was conducted by the Malta Chamber last week, as part of a public consultation process taking place across the European Union on the subject.

The vast majority of respondents expressed a position in favour of summertime, while only a quarter of those who answered the survey said they preferred switching to wintertime.

Businesses who preferred summertime all year long remarked that longer days should lead to a more motivated work-force, which translates into more business activity especially among retail, hospitality and restaurant businesses.

Longer days also meant that workers would enjoy more daylight after their respective work shifts, leading to a wider feel good factor among employees, one member said.

“This would mean more work-life balance, therefore a happier workforce” the respondent said.

Some businesses also stated that Malta ought to align its time to other European countries in the CET zone.

The change from summer to wintertime was considered negative by 54 per cent of respondents, while 68 per cent considered the change from winter to summertime as positive.

The findings mirrored those of a public consultation exercise, which found that most Maltese favour keeping summer time throughout the year.

The findings, which were discussed at a conference hosted by MEUSAC (Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee), are in line with similar surveys across the EU.

The European Commission wants to stop the practice of time changes twice a year.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said in August that more than 80 per cent of EU citizens wanted to abolish the EU's switch and favoured keeping the time used in summer for the whole year.

There were more than 2,000 respondents to the Malta survey, held online.