GWU in U-turn on Sea Malta

The General Workers' Union last night made a U-turn on the Sea Malta privatisation deal and informed Investments Minister Austin Gatt that it was prepared to accept Grimaldi's offer after all, including that of changing the seafarers' tour of duty.

But the letter also contained a condition that Dr Gatt deemed unacceptable to both the government and Grimaldi - that the union retains recognition at Sea Malta.

Close to 7 p.m., Dr Gatt confirmed that he had just received a letter from the GWU, signed by assistant secretary general Michael Parnis.

"I was informed the letter had not been sent earlier because Tony Zarb could not find a good quality fax machine in Brussels (where he is attending a trade unions' meeting).

"The letter is not in line with the understanding I had with Mr Zarb following a meeting we had on Friday because it includes a condition which I explicitly advised him not to include," Dr Gatt said.

"I told him clearly that if he included the condition on retaining recognition at Sea Malta, it will continue to complicate matters.

"This condition is superfluous as it is the law that determines which union has recognition after all. This is sheer waste of time and is only intended to raise problems with Atlantica," Dr Gatt said.

Atlantica is a subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group that was about to buy Sea Malta until it pulled out at the end of last month when the GWU failed to accept the proposed conditions for the seafaring section of the shipping line's workforce.

Dr Gatt acknowledged that a positive step had been made in the union's acceptance of all of Atlantica's conditions including the change in the seafarers' tour of duty. But the union, he said, had created yet another stumbling block.

"This is just another spanner in the works. We are no longer talking about creating jobs and the conditions of work but about whether the GWU will continue to dominate at Sea Malta," Dr Gatt said.

"Both Tony Zarb and section secretary Manwel Zammit were told why Atlantica does not trust the union.

And to be frank, seeing this attitude, it does not surprise me at all.

"It is irresponsible to lay down this condition when law regulates this area. This could lead to Altantica going ahead on its own steam and never coming back to buy Sea Malta.

"I will write to Atlantica and the union about the matter," Dr Gatt said.

The union's letter came too late in the day to influence a Cabinet decision earlier yesterday that Sea Malta should be liquidated as planned and that the company's extraordinary general meeting on December 12 should discuss a motion moved by the majority shareholder, Malta Government Investments Ltd, for the dissolution of the company.

In a statement early in the afternoon, the government said the Cabinet had decided to go ahead with the liquidation process after contacts that took place with the GWU between Friday and yesterday failed to produce any concrete result.

A GWU statement issued at 6 p.m. said the proposal had been sent and that the union's aim was to safeguard jobs.

Contacted about this statement, Mr Zarb said a new proposal had been discussed within the union and submitted to the government.

"We have no reply from the government as yet," Mr Zarb said, declining to reveal the proposal.

Contacted about the matter at around 6.30 p.m. and asked about the union's proposal, Investment's Minister Austin Gatt said he had not yet received any proposal from the union.

"On Friday, Mr Zarb asked to meet me. He came on his own and informed me the GWU was prepared to withdraw everything and accept all the proposals Grimaldi had made, including that of changing the seafarers' tour of duty, which was the main bone of contention.

"Mr Zarb also informed me that the union was willing to impose this on the workers without asking for their vote and that he would be declaring that the union agreed with the privatisation of Sea Malta.

"But I never received this letter and the Cabinet then decided the way it did," Dr Gatt said.

Asked whether the Cabinet would meet again to discuss the matter if the GWU managed to send such a letter before December 12, when Sea Malta's board would decide on the company's liquidation, Dr Gatt said: "I cannot say what the union will be writing. I can't say what the union is up to."

Dr Gatt said he had spoken twice with Mr Zarb over the weekend as well as to Emanuele Grimaldi, owner of Atlantica, about the matter.

"To be frank, Dr Grimaldi is not very enthusiastic about the GWU," Dr Gatt said.

Legal sources contacted to explain the motion of dissolution said this was technically known as a "creditors' dissolution" in which the shareholders declare that the company does not have enough money to pay its creditors. The company then asks the court to appoint a liquidator to dissolve the company so that creditors can be paid from the money that accrues from the sale of the company's assets.

The national shipping line has debts amounting to over Lm2 million and its only assets are its two ships, the Zebbug and Maltese Falcon, which at best could fetch up to Lm1.7 million, sources said. This means that there will not be enough money to pay all the creditors and hence, no redundancy payments would be made.

Some shore-based workers are understood to have mooted the idea of formulating and signing a letter informing the government that they did not want the GWU to represent them any more on this issue and to ask the government to carry on with the privatisation deal negotiating with them or their representative.

But this letter was not sent in the end because they were informed that Mr Zarb had sent the government "a fresh proposal", even though they did not know what the proposal was.

A number of Sea Malta employees were enraged on learning that at such a delicate time Mr Zarb and assistant secretary general Gejtu Mercieca had gone to Brussels to attend an executive committee meeting of the European Trade Union Council. These meetings are usually attended by Mr Zarb and Mr Parnis.

Sources said Dr Grimaldi was expected in Malta later this week but the visit has long been scheduled and has nothing to do with the Sea Malta issue.

Earlier in the day, the Investments Ministry released a letter sent by Dr Grimaldi to Dr Gatt on November 11, in which Dr Grimaldi informed him that the company was willing to invest between €20 and 30 million in Sea Malta.

The company considered the amount of investment as "more suitable to start a new course with sufficient power and stature".

The government declared that as from next Tuesday, Grimaldi would be operating a service to Catania, Salerno and Genoa to ensure there would not be a disruption of service.

"This is a temporary arrangement to satisfy the needs of industry. The government intends to issue a call for tenders for a new public service obligation contract.

"We are satisfied that, notwithstanding the hurdles introduced by the GWU, the government has managed to attract a €20 million investment and from a major shipping company to Malta.

"However the ministry regrets the fact that because of the stubborn attitude of a few, the jobs of the many have been jeopardised. One cannot help questioning what kind of democracy reigns within the GWU when the vote of the minority dictates against the will of the majority," the ministry said.

It is understood Mr Zarb will cut his visit short to be able to attend Bondi+ tonight.