Investments Minister Austin Gatt has warned Sea Malta employees in a letter that voting against the privatisation of the company will result in them losing their jobs and redundancy packages.

The letter was sent to all Sea Malta workers yesterday.

Workers have been given until Friday to accept or refuse privatisation by taking or leaving the package they are being offered by Atlantica di Navigazione Spa, the company that wants to buy the company.

Government sources said yesterday that should the package be refused, privatisation will not take place but the government will withdraw all the guarantees it extended to Sea Malta leading the company to be declared bankrupt.

As a result, all 57 seafarers and the 66 shore-based employees will lose their job and would be unable to get their redundancy payments. This was because, according to law, when a company is declared bankrupt workers are privileged among other creditors and entitled to three months salary but their right to redundancy payments ranks after that of all the other creditors. The sources said that if the workers accept privatisation, they will all have a job. For while Atlantica will retain all seafarers and 12 of the shore-based employees, the government will offer employment to the rest. A skills matching exercise is already being carried out to see where best to place the workers to be redeployed in the public sector.

Atlantica had guaranteed workers they will retain their financial package and seafarers will be given a guarantee they will not be made redundant over the next five years. This was a promise they did not enjoy, the sources said.

The Italian firm also promised seafarers they will continue to retain the generous payouts listed in their collective agreements in case of redundancies. The highest such payout amounts to Lm60,000.

There had, however, been a lack of agreement on two points - the tour of duty and routes. For while workers enjoyed a tour of duty of 15 days on, 15 days off, Atlantica had proposed four months on, four months off. Workers had also asked for a guarantee that they would be allocated to routes which started and ended in Malta. But the company had argued it wanted to use its human resources where it believed they were most needed.

Last week the company made a final concession, namely that:

¤ Sea Malta seafarers will be assigned, where possible, to vessels calling to and from Malta, such as the Malta Express.

¤ They will have opportunities to be assigned to other vessels in the fleet of Atlantica.

¤ Where operationally necessary and at the discretion of the management, Sea Malta seafarers had to accept to be assigned to other vessels in the fleet operating in the Mediterranean.

¤ They may opt for a tour of duty of four months on, two months off or two months on, one month off. These options were more consistent with those offered by other shipping lines operating in Europe.

¤ As a result of the new tours of duty offered, the seafarers' income will be increased.

The General Workers' Union's general secretary, Tony Zarb, said the union will be meeting workers' representatives this morning. Asked what advice the union will be giving workers he said this will be discussed with the workers today.