GWU dares minister to order inquiry into dock workers' output

If Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt is convinced that the shipyards are in dire straits because of the workers, he should order an inquiry, the General Workers' Union insisted yesterday.

The GWU on Tuesday called for an inquiry into a conversion contract which, it said, could cost Malta Shipyards €46.59 million (Lm20 million) over two years. It also insisted that the shipyards' executive management should either explain or be held responsible for the state of affairs.

The Infrastructure Ministry reacted, saying the union wanted to wash its hands of its responsibility for the low levels of production that led the company into an unsustainable financial situation. The truth of the matter is that a big part of the negative impact on this contract lies in workers not finishing the work on time and jobs that had to be redone, the ministry had said.

The GWU retorted yesterday that it will not stop until all the facts about this issue are known to the public.

Not only has the union not washed its hand of the company's situation but the yard's workers had made many sacrifices, such as accepting wage freezes and flexible work as part of the last collective agreement, precisely to help improve productivity.

"The minister should know that the main factor that is weakening productivity is over-manning. On this particular contract, the client had the right to load (the job) with as many people as they pleased... and the reason is the conditions of the contract, which were drawn up by the expert who was brought over and then left after six months," the union insisted.

The ministry had said that the level of productivity was the lowest when compared with that registered at the yard in 2004, 2005 and 2006, adding that the client had repeatedly protested with the management about low productivity rates and the lack of planning by those supposed to be in charge of the work force.

The fate of the shipyards became a hot issue during the election campaign as a result of the fact that 2008 is the last year in which the EU will allow the government to subsidise the yard's production, a fact that could possibly lead to the closure of the company which has been plagued by debts over the past decades.