GWU orders general work-to-rule

A work-to-rule directive affecting all workplaces will come into effect tomorrow morning "unless the government calls the General Workers' Union for a meeting", the union's secretary general, Tony Zarb, warned yesterday.

The Prime Minister yesterday replied to Mr Zarb's Monday letter where he informed Dr Gonzi about the planned industrial action. In his reply, Dr Gonzi said he will be passing Mr Zarb's letter as well as his own reply to that letter, to the chairman of the Malta Council for Social and Economic Development so that the chairman will call a meeting of the MCESD in order that "what had to be said will be said in the presence of all the social partners".

GWU members and "all employees who wish to obey the directive" will refuse to perform duties which are not explicitly included in the job description. The directive does not apply to hospitals and schools.

"The action will only be called off if the government gives a clear signal it will soften the blow on workers and shed its arrogance," Mr Zarb told a press conference yesterday evening.

He warned the action was the first of a spate of measures that would escalate if the government pursued in its "intransigent" position.

"We are asking shop stewards to make sure the directive is followed on Thursday," Mr Zarb said, adding that the union was warning employers not to coerce workers who follow the directive.

Asked if he foresaw a scenario where workers who refuse to follow the directive might be bullied by their colleagues, Mr Zarb replied: "We hope that everyone will obey the directive".

Expressing his conviction that last week's protest by the GWU in Valletta had been noted by "those who came to Malta for the Commonwealth summit", Mr Zarb challenged the employers' view that the rally deterred investment from coming to the island.

"If we didn't hold the protest, no investment would have come just the same. It's the government's fault not ours. We are defending workers," Mr Zarb said, adding that the Federation of Industry and the Malta Employers' Association only objected to protests when it was the GWU that called them.

"They never object when other unions hold protests," he said.

Reiterating the reasons for which the union felt compelled to take to the streets and call industrial action, Mr Zarb said the union was not happy with the wave of lay-offs.

The GWU would be holding another protest in Paola on December 15.