GWU takes issue over freeport off days report

The General Workers' Union's maritime and aviation section has come out against a story in The Times on Monday which said that a problem bedevilling the management of Malta Freeport is public holidays.

The Times reported that Malta Freeport was practically working at full capacity and that the management was trying to solve the issue of public holidays, when, because of port regulations, port workers do not work and the freeport has to curtail most of its operations.

Malta Freeport does not operate on Good Friday, March 31, May 1, Christmas and New Year's Day while competing ports operate throughout the year.

The issue is compounded when, as happened this year, the freeport had to suspend its operations for two days because of bad weather.

These stoppages create backlogs that are not easily cleared.

The freeport management feels the Malta Maritime Authority should change the regulations so that the freeport may remain all year round, as freeports normally do.

The union said it was pleased that the freeport had a high volume of work - part of this success was due to the port workers which it represented.

"We cannot understand why the issue of public holidays was brought up," the union said. The union argued that the five days in question were the only ones when port workers did not work.

"These workers have no leave and sick leave and work on weekends. Other workers have more public holidays than port workers," the union said.

The union said the article was "incorrect and lacked information", going on to say it had been claimed that the port workers enjoyed all public holidays and not just five.

The article in The Times had actually listed the five holidays, which the GWU seems now to have confirmed.