Malta Shipyards Ltd

The government has recently been arguing that the only solution for Malta Shipyards Ltd (MSL) to become viable is to privatise this entity. One has to ask, is it politically correct to promise one thing during the election campaign and then do another after being returned to power? The General Workers' Union in its pre-election document stated that if the local political parties want to remain credible they should not make promises which they cannot keep or, worse still, do exactly the opposite!

Before talking of privatising the 'yard, the taxpayer has a right to know what went wrong with the previous restructuring plan.

• How is it that, for example, the Fairmount Fjord contract which was negotiated solely by the executive management of the 'yard resulted in a loss of Lm20 million?

• Why have most of the recommendations made in the Appledore Report not been implemented by the executive management?

• Why has the executive management, for the last two years, abandoned ship repair which is one of the core competences of the MSL and is highly profitable?

• Why is foreign labour being recruited and now government is claiming that there is excess labour at the shipyards? This foreign labour is costing MSL much more than the local labour, and this is not taking into account that sometimes most of this foreign labour is unskilled, they cannot speak English and in some cases have never worked on a ship before!

• Why did the executive management not call for a high level meeting with the GWU during the last three years to put the shipyards back on the right track?

• Why has the executive management not utilised all EU funds available for the restructuring process and retraining of human resources of the shipyards?

These findings are detailed in the GWU report which so far the management has not contested. The only excuse management has for these losses is that the workers are not productive enough! It is not the first time that we have heard this statement. How can one expect to increase productivity by resorting to such tactics which are unheard of in the private sector? It is the duty of the executive management to ensure that the right performance management system is implemented to motivate the workforce and maintain productivity levels, something which apparently the management failed to do even though outdated work practices were demised in agreement with the GWU. MSL's executive management has a lot to answer for; had these catastrophic mistakes been avoided the government would now perhaps be selling a profitable 'yard which would fetch a much better price!

As regards the privatisation process itself, the GWU cannot comment at this stage for the simple reason that the government is still not clear about its intentions. Is it looking for a strategic partner, a complete take-over or a management contract? The GWU will obviously comment at the right time, but it is very positive that the government has taken on board some of the suggestions made by the union in this regard.

Green jobs and the fuel surcharge

The Employment and Training Corporation recently organised a very interesting and well- attended conference on green jobs. One of the main speakers at this conference was Edward Scicluna, who was commissioned by the ETC to analyse the green jobs market in Malta. It transpired that the green jobs created so far in Malta are mainly focused with our obligations to conform to the environment-related acquis. While this could be termed as a cost on the economy, the major benefit is that the population at large will have a much better quality of life.

Some experts believe that the green economy has the potential to become bigger than the internet and it is therefore imperative that we start exploiting this new market, which is growing at a very fast rate, both locally and abroad. Green jobs in the manufacturing sector, for example, have a high added value and thus require specialist skills. They are therefore less prone to be lost or outsourced to low cost countries in Asia. The GWU is of the opinion that government, with the help of Malta Enterprise, the university, ETC and other constituted bodies, should formulate a strategic plan for this sector so that the green economy is given the necessary jump-start.

While our energy needs are fully dependent on oil, countries such as Germany have been investing in green energy for the last decade. Germany was quick to realise that the price of oil can only go up and up with the expansion of the Chinese and Indian economies, and countries which are not fully dependent on oil for their energy requirements have a competitive advantage over those that are fully dependent. If, for example, a power station in one of the German states runs on natural gas to generate electricity then obviously the energy costs charged to industry and consumers alike is much less when compared to a power station that runs on oil. This does not mean that there are certain specific industries, such as the airline industry, that may generally be affected in the same way because all airplanes currently run on jet fuel. But even here the average age of the fleet will have a determining competitive advantage.

It is therefore imperative for the government to take the necessary short-term and long-term measures now before the situation turns into a crisis from both social and economic perspectives. The GWU feels that Enemalta should speed up its plans for the provision of natural gas to operate the turbines of the power station. These plans should have been drawn up some time ago when the prices of oil were already reaching new record highs. Now is the time for concrete action, we only have to look around and see what other countries are doing and start implementing these varied solutions which are already tried and tested.

If we wait too long for some mega and most recent technological project to solve all our energy problems the situation by then can turn into a crisis. The Mater Dei Hospital which was delivered well above budget and well after its original target date should have taught us all a lesson!

• Mr Carachi is president of the General Workers' Union.

vcarachi@gwu.org.mt

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