Privatisation was a good option for Malta Shipyards even if it was making a profit, the Finance Ministry said yesterday.

It said recent economic history had shown that privatisation was beneficial for the country's social and economic development as well as for the company's employees.

The ministry said it agreed with a structured dialogue with the General Workers' Union to discuss voluntary retirement schemes. However, the government felt that the time for new forms of debate was over since there was no alternative to privatisation.

"The country has experimented with these alternatives - which led to an accumulated financial burden of more than €770 (Lm330.56) million - for a long time," it said.

The ministry said there are two important aspects in the process of privatisation - the adjudication itself which will be led by the ministry's Privatisation Unit, and the way in which workers' interests will be safeguarded.

The ministry said that the various studies carried out over the years and regular evaluation processes showed that the shipyards' viability relied on the number of workers it employed.

When the privatisation decision was announced, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the 1,700 workers currently employed had to be reduced drastically, although he stopped short of giving a number.

The ministry invited the GWU for a meeting on Friday to discuss the voluntary retirement schemes.

GWU general secretary Tony Zarb appealed to the government to stop using the shipyards for partisan purposes. It said the issue should be a national project for the sake of the workers involved.

Labour leader Joseph Muscat insisted that his party would stick by its offer to cooperate on national issues, which included the shipyards.

Should the government agree to the GWU offer to set up a task force on the shipyards, the MLP would take part in the talks without imposing any conditions, Dr Muscat said. The ball was in the government's court.