Petition No.: 31 Signatures: 5751
Thirteenth Legislature (2017 - 2022)
Details - Online
Title
Restart our social and cultural life safely
Date
21-05-2021
Date petition closes for signatures
20-07-2021
Creator of petition
JOVEN GRECH
Grievance
The Entertainment Industry remains the only industry not allowed to operate by the local Public Health Authorities. We have strictly adhered to the regulations since the very beginning of this pandemic in March 2020. While these were reasonable and justified then, the situation now is very different.
As we enter a new phase, with Malta just weeks away from successfully vaccinating the whole adult population of Malta, we are disappointed that we are once again being denied the liberty to protect our livelihoods and get back to work.
Thousands of highly-skilled workers and their families have been impacted. More than one year of no paychecks, severely reduced revenues and monthly wages, not to mention the severe mental health challenges experienced by out-of-work artists, audiovisual experts, event management companies, cleaning professionals, and many others.
We are calling on the Public Health Authorities and the Government to explore all possibilities for the safe and successful reopening of the Entertainment Industry, just as it did with all other sectors of the economy.
Other countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain, have successfully trialed events which have shown that live events can be restarted safely.
As we enter a new phase, with Malta just weeks away from successfully vaccinating the whole adult population of Malta, we are disappointed that we are once again being denied the liberty to protect our livelihoods and get back to work.
Thousands of highly-skilled workers and their families have been impacted. More than one year of no paychecks, severely reduced revenues and monthly wages, not to mention the severe mental health challenges experienced by out-of-work artists, audiovisual experts, event management companies, cleaning professionals, and many others.
We are calling on the Public Health Authorities and the Government to explore all possibilities for the safe and successful reopening of the Entertainment Industry, just as it did with all other sectors of the economy.
Other countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain, have successfully trialed events which have shown that live events can be restarted safely.
Wherefore I/we respectfully request the House of Representatives to
We stand with one voice, simply asking that our fundamental right to work is respected, and that all efforts are made to enable our industry to restart safely. We are requesting:
- A timeline of restrictions, with capacity gradually eased over several weeks. We suggest that these should start being put in place as from 1st July 2021; a date to be acknowledged as from now in order to plan accordingly.
- We are open to discuss methods of entry to events with the Health Authorities such as by only accepting fully-vaccinated customers to events, and thus we will also be happy to support the health authorities in their vaccination campaign, especially now that vaccinations for the 16-30 age brackets have commenced.
- Events will be gated, and thus there will be control on all attending. This will allow all organisers and venues to verify if attendees are fully vaccinated, and also gather the details of attendees in case of future communication if required. Any data gathering will be done in accordance to GDPR rules.
- A timeline of restrictions, with capacity gradually eased over several weeks. We suggest that these should start being put in place as from 1st July 2021; a date to be acknowledged as from now in order to plan accordingly.
- We are open to discuss methods of entry to events with the Health Authorities such as by only accepting fully-vaccinated customers to events, and thus we will also be happy to support the health authorities in their vaccination campaign, especially now that vaccinations for the 16-30 age brackets have commenced.
- Events will be gated, and thus there will be control on all attending. This will allow all organisers and venues to verify if attendees are fully vaccinated, and also gather the details of attendees in case of future communication if required. Any data gathering will be done in accordance to GDPR rules.
Closing remarks
We have no political agenda. We represent a complete supply chain, contributing to 7.9% of Malta’s GDP, that has been left in the dark. Our industry provides a rich calendar of cultural and social events throughout the year, and strengthens Malta’s positions as a tourist destination.