Shipyards obtain Lm50,000 garnishee order against GWU

Malta Shipyards Ltd yesterday filed a judicial protest in the First Hall of the Civil Court holding the General Workers' Union liable in damages following industrial action at the shipyard.

The company also obtained a garnishee order against the GWU in the sum of Lm50,000.

In its protest, Malta Shipyards claimed it had received an e-mail from the GWU last Saturday in which the union had informed it that industrial directives were to be immediately implemented.

The directives and industrial action, together with the general actions of the union, were in violation of the collective agreement currently in force between the parties, the company said.

It said the GWU had ignored the clause of the collective agreement in terms of which the shipyards and the union pledged their commitment to comply with the provisions of the agreement. The GWU had specifically violated its obligation not to make any dispute evident to the shipyards' clients. Malta Shipyards claimed its clients were fully aware of the dispute and had held the shipyards liable in damages.

Furthermore, the company claimed that the GWU had violated an express provision of the collective agreement whereby a written agreement, prior to the dispute, was to prevail pending a settlement between the parties.

According to the company, there was no impediment to the continuation of discussions between the parties.

Malta Shipyards said the union had failed to observe the dispute resolution procedures contemplated in the collective agreement.

This stipulated that a meeting had to be held within 24 hours and if no positive outcome was achieved then the parties had to adopt the voluntary settlement procedures established by law. On the contrary, the GWU had requested a conciliation meeting days after it had issued the industrial directives.

The company added that the GWU had failed to give notice (not shorter than 36 hours) before commencing industrial action.

All this meant that the GWU's actions were in violation of the collective agreement and of law and the actions and the consequences were not protected by industrial law.

Malta Shipyards claimed it had sustained both actual and potential damages as a result of the GWU's industrial action and there was imminent danger of the company being closed down with great loss of employment.

In the garnishee order obtained yesterday the company claimed it had actually sustained Lm50,000 in damages as a result of the union's actions and it reserved the right to take action for any further damage it might sustain.

The company formally asked the GWU to immediately halt any industrial action and to desist from calling any further industrial action in violation of the collective agreement.

The union was also held liable in damages.

Dr Andrew Borg Cardona signed the protest.