The Finance Ministry said this evening that a resolution approved by the GWU delegates at Malta Shipyards reflected the GWU’s failure to understand the risks associated with failure of the privatisation of Malta Shipyards. “Indeed, this premature resolution is seriously endangering the whole process and the very future of the workers at the shipyard.

In their resolution, the delegates said that any early retirement scheme, even if agreed between the union and the government, should not be offered until the workers know who will buy the dockyard, and what the plans for the future are.

Furthermore, any workers who received any literature on early retirement schemes should immediately hand it to the union.

GWU general secretary Tony Zarb said the union was not against privatisation of the shipyard. Nor was it against early retirement schemes, but the two had to be brought about through real consultation.

He insisted that those workers who did not wish to take up early retirement schemes should be guaranteed employment by the government because the dockyard and its current state were the government's responsibility..

Mr Zarb called for solidarity among the workers and said that while the government appeared to be trying to divide them, it would fail.

He said the union was not against privatisation of the shipyard. Nor was it against early retirement schemes, but the two had to be brought about through real consultation.

He insisted that those workers who did not wish to take up early retirement schemes should be guaranteed employment by the government because the dockyard and its current state were the government's responsibility..

Mr Zarb called for solidarity among the workers and said that while the government appeared to be trying to divide them, it would fail.

The government earlier this week presented its proposals on early retirement schemes to the GWU and invited it to submit its reaction tomorrow, when a meeting is due.

The government earlier this week presented its proposals on early retirement schemes to the GWU and invited it to submit its reaction tomorrow, when a meeting is due.

The ministry in its reaction said that while it had agreed with the union that the proposed schemes would not be discussed in public, the union had now irresponsible directed the workers to ignore them.

As for guarantees for the employment of the workers, the ministry said the people could not continue to be asked to shoulder the financial burden of the dockyard, currently amounting to £950 million.

“The government is not in a position to give any guarantees to the workers if the privatisation process fails. The GWU is not understanding the serious implications of postponing the publication of the early retirement schemes. Postponement may mean that that there would not be interest in the privatisation process by investors since the government has been informed that no investor would be willing to take on the management of the enterprise in its current state.”

“One also has to bear in mind that the early retirement schemes themselves constitute a considerable financial burden for the people and no one should ask the people to do more,” the ministry said.

The ministry said it was aware that there was a campaign urging the workers not to take up the schemes so as to force the government to seek other solutions.

The minister said it, however, wanted to be clear. There were no other solutions. Whoever was conducting this campaign was irresponsibly deceiving the workers and should be held to account since this could mean that workers would lose both the change of early retirement, as well as their job.

GWU delegates at Malta Shipyards have approved a resolution providing that any early retirement scheme, even if agreed between the union and the government, should not be offered until the workers know who will buy the dockyard, and what the plans for the future are.

In any transfer of business, the workers had a right to know what they were going in for, and this should also apply in the case of the dockyard, GWU general secretary Tony Zarb told a press conference.

He said that any workers who received any literature on early retirement schemes should immediately hand it to the union.

In a press conference earlier, Mr Zarb said the union was not against privatisation of the shipyard. Nor was it against early retirement schemes, but the two had to be brought about through real consultation.

He insisted that those workers who did not wish to take up early retirement schemes should be guaranteed employment by the government because the dockyard and its current state were the government's responsibility..

Mr Zarb called for solidarity among the workers and said that while the government appeared to be trying to divide them, it would fail.

The government earlier this week presented its proposals on early retirement schemes to the GWU and invited it to submit its reaction tomorrow, when a meeting is due.

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