Eight jobs to go as PN’s printing press is closed

Employees of the PN’s printing press are being made redundant and their last day of work will be September 15, when Independence Print – otherwise known as Stamperija – closes after more than 40 years. The press employs eight people but more lay-offs could be in the pipeline, this newspaper has learnt. A decision on the four employees in the design department is imminent. The Nationalist Party recently decided to outsource the printing of its newspapers as part of a major restructuring programme of its commercial entities. In the aftermath of its landslide defeat in the last general election, the party has sunk into a financial crisis, to the point that it is no longer in a position to pay its employees on time. While some of them have grasped the opportunity to seek greener pastures, others were not so lucky and are struggling to make ends meet. In an interview with The Sunday Times of Malta, PN general secretary Chris Said said it would be more cost effective for the party to print its newspapers elsewhere. He said that in the short term, the party was aiming to break even on its monthly operations by the end of September. In the longer term the objective is to reduce the...