Government urges opposition to collaborate on the shipyards

The government said this evening that it hoped the opposition would work with it and all persons of good will for the privatisation of the shipyards to be a success.

“Such success will benefit the workers of this company as well as society, which for so many years has spent million in subsidies for this industry.”

The statement was issued shortly after the opposition criticized the government over the manner how it had announced its privatisation plans. Labour leader Joseph Muscat said the government had shown it wanted to go it alone despite the Labour Party’s offer of collaboration on national matters.

The government said it was surprised by the opposition’s reaction and invited it to cooperate in the national interest and the interest of the workers.

“Recent history has shown that whenever partisan interest were put before the national interest, it was the workers who suffered.

“Whoever politicizes the dockyard problem will not be working in the best interests of the workers’ families and the nation,” the government said in its statement.