Chamber News

Business News

Dear members, we have a lot of good news, information and opportunities to share with you today, including the results of our Council member elections from Tuesday night’s VCCI Annual General Meeting. Keep reading below… VCCI Council Election Results We would like to thank everyone who came along last night to the VCCI AGM held in Port Vila, and to especially thank the wonderful candidates who put themselves forward for consideration to join the VCCI Council for 2020. We were delighted to have so many business people in the room, over 110 by our count. A big congratulations to the following successful business representatives, all whom have a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion to represent their industry sector on the VCCI Council: New Council…

New Labour (Work Permits) Act List of Reserved Occupations Notice no.67 of 2020

We have been made aware of the gazetting of a new Labour (Work Permits) Act List of Reserved Occupations Notice no.67 of 2020. An important next step is to begin working on the response requested by the Government during this next 6 month period. VCCI is working with partners on a staged approach to collecting feedback and data from you, the business community, to feed into a report to be finalized before the end of November 2020. We will need your support to do this. Please click here to download the Labour (Work Permits) Act List of Reserved Occupations Notice no.67 of 2020. We ask at this early stage for you to share with us any emailed opinions/comments/feedback you have sent to the Department of…

SME Grant for business license holders

VCCI is supporting the Department of Finance in rolling out the Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Grant program. The grant is a one off payment of 60,000VT, available per business license. Businesses that have already applied to the ESP are eligible for this grant also. Basic criteria You have a valid business license for financial year 2019, or registered your business license before 31st of March 2020 You must have an annual turnover of less than 200 million vatu To apply for the grant you will need to provide a copy of your business license and fill in the grant form, providing your bank details. How to apply Please complete the SME grant form and submit via email or Dropbox as per the instructions found on…

More businesses qualify with relaxed Employment Stabilization Payment conditions

We are delighted to share with you the changes that the Department of Finance have made regarding the ESP. Most notably, the conditions have been relaxed meaning that more businesses will be considered for payments. The new condition is that businesses can demonstrate that they have been affected by the economic down turn. The Department of Finance is asking businesses to demonstrate this by presenting a VAT payment receipt from 2019, and for the same period in 2020, highlighting in an accompanying statement the effects of this reduction in income. Any business with a valid business license may now apply for the ESP. Finance will be assessing each application individually and will reply to you to advise you if your application has been successful. How…

The Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Council Elections 2020

On Tuesday 30 June 2020 the Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be holding its Annual General Meeting. At this meeting there will be a total of eight (8) seats on the Council available for members to fill. Did you know? The Council is comprised of 16 members of the private sector, experienced in managing their own businesses and dedicated to advancing their industry sectors. By serving on the Council you will be able contribute to the strategic direction of the VCCI. Recognized for your contributions in the business community, becoming a Council member will enable you to support VCCI in its mission to develop and support economic growth for all business types in Vanuatu. The Council is comprised of 16 elected positions, each…

Important Business News Monday 01 June 2020

Join the Council – 8 Positions to fill at June’s Annual General Meeting Are you asking yourself why you should be interested in this opportunity? Here are just some of the benefits to you of becoming a VCCI Council member. You have a chance to have a say on matters that count. VCCI is here to represent the private sector and advocate and lobby the Government on its behalf. Councillors vote on the key actions that the Chamber takes on and directs its strategy. Through engaging with decision makers in meetings, on boards and working with committees your knowledge about what is going on for the private sector will grow too. Be in the know – in an environment where knowledge is key, at the…

Important Business News Wednesday 27 May 2020

Legal Advice on recent Labour Department directives Due to the escalating number of enquiries by businesses that are concerned about potential changes to employment conditions and directives given by the Labour Department, VCCI engaged a lawyer to clarify the legal position of businesses owners affected. Below is a summary of the advice we have received in relation to specific cases of businesses being told to rehire employees: Regarding statements that ‘Employers must re-hire staff or place them back onto the payroll and apply for the ESP and pass on the 30,000VT per month’ the Commissioner of Labour ‘has no power in the Employment Act or in any other Vanuatu law to order reinstatement if an employer has otherwise complied with the law’ or ‘deal with…

Guide to Completion of the Vanuatu Government Employee Stabilization Payment Form

Who can Apply? To make your claim for the Employee Stabilization Payment, you will need to first check with the Ministry of Finance to see if your business license category is qualified, or not qualified. You can do this by visiting their website. If you are qualified, you need to be an Employer with a Bank account and Business License and paying staff VNPF through your company during the month of March. If you do not have these documents or a bank account please obtain them first. Finance will be setting priority sectors to support – those that have been affected by COVID-19. While we do not have the detailed information on sectors yet, we suggest you apply and then finance will let you know…

Disaster Response Skills Register

Do you have disaster response skills and are you in Vanuatu now and willing to support post cyclone TC Harold? If yes, please send an email with the subject TC Harold Response to vbrc.executive@gmail.com Note you must include these 3 things in your email: 1. Your name and company name, 2. a brief description of your skill or service that is relevant to cyclone response, 3. Your visa or work status (how you can work legally in Vanuatu). This register will support relief efforts in providing information however is not a guarantee of any employment.

Employment Stabilisation Payment (ESP) form now available

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Management has provided VCCI with an electronic form (in Microsoft Excel format) for eligible employers to use to access the Employment Stabilisation Payment. Please note, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management will be providing detailed advice on how the policy will be implemented early next week. Until this has been released no applications will be accepted. Our next steps VCCI will be working on an application guide to be made available to you in 3 languages (English, Bislama and French). This will be available early next week. We will be providing support to businesses in four ways from Wednesday 15 April: Our website will be loaded with all the information you need to apply (www.vcci.vu) Free call hotline…

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