The Union Haddiema Maghqudin yesterday defended its position in relation to civil servants and said that it had always insisted, even in public, that each worker should give a proper day's work.

Referring to an editorial in yesterday's The Times, the union said it was criticised by the newspaper as if it were responsible for shortcomings which existed in certain government departments.

"It would have been better for the paper to write about these shortcomings directly," the union said.

The editorial referred to the summer overtime bill in the civil service of Lm1.7 million last year and Lm2 million for each of 2002 and 2001. It said that despite the UHM's reasoning that this amount included thousands who did not work on the half-day system, the paper said that "doubtless that much overtime is due to a reluctance bordering on laziness on the part of not a few civil servants to put in an honest day's work".

The editorial also criticised many of the union's members for failing to make a valid contribution to the EU project.

The UHM said it had always believed in European Union membership and it was civil servants who had managed Malta's EU accession process. This work had been praised and appreciated by the Prime Minister and the social partners.

The union said the editorial gave the impression that it had never urged workers to be productive. But this was not the case. So much so that the phrase "eight hours work for eight hours' pay" was associated with the UHM.

The UHM was also for seriousness and accountability at each place of work, it said. It also believed that disciplinary action should be taken where necessary.

Such measures were now also being adopted by the civil service, due to the changes carried out in agreement with the UHM and other unions.