Mark Micallef
Talks on shipyards collapse
Government to issue early retirement schemes next week
GWU secretary general Tony Zarb speaking to journalists after the meeting yesterday.
A meeting between the government and the General Workers' Union over the shipyards' privatisation failed to yield any agreement with the union insisting it was not prepared to budge, particularly on its request to have early retirement schemes issued only when the prospective buyer is known.
Union secretary general Tony Zarb said on leaving the hour-long meeting with Finance Minister Tonio Fenech that the government was going back on its pre-electoral promise guaranteeing the workers' employment.
The union's delegates representing shipyard workers on Wednesday adopted a resolution demanding, among other things, that the early retirement schemes should only be issued when the prospective buyer is known and that the workers who choose to stay on should have their job guaranteed.
Mr Fenech in reaction insisted that the union's stand, on delaying the early retirement scheme despite favouring them in principle, could jeopardise the whole process.
An EU directive, now part of Maltese law, makes it clear that when a company is sold the buyer is obliged to respect previous collective agreements. Particularly under these conditions, no company would be interested in taking over the shipyards with its present workforce.
"We want to offer the retirement schemes now to be in a better position when the negotiations are taking place. At that stage it might be too late for us to do anything if the process reaches a breaking point," Mr Fenech said.
Throughout, he stressed the need for the government to act quickly, highlighting the fact that the EU will only allow the government to subsidise the 'yards till the end of the year.
When asked why the government did not initiate the privatisation process earlier, Mr Fenech said the government felt that this was the "most opportune moment".
He also recounted how the government - as had Labour and the GWU through a report laid on the table of the House of Representatives - had been made aware of the need to downsize the workforce last year.
"We then started attracting a certain interest (by foreign companies)... but they ran for it because they were not ready to go into discussions over some sort of partnership with the government with that amount of workers," he said. "Evidently, I think nobody would have expected us to start the privatisation process in December or January with an electoral campaign due, so now is the opportune moment."
When pressed on this fact and asked whether the government had risked jeopardising the process because of the election, Mr Fenech said: "No, that is absolutely not the argument. The privatisation process was a decision made by the government in the context of the realities we are going through, which are that we will no longer be able to subsidise the shipyards after December 31, 2008 and that there seems to be no alternative."
The government will now be going ahead with issuing the early retirement schemes next week. The minister did not delve into them yesterday but the details were presented to the GWU, which, according to Mr Fenech, did not give any feedback despite saying cursorily that they just needed a few "finishing touches".
Consultation does not mean that the parties discussing have to agree, he said, defending the government's right to forge ahead. "If anything, it's the GWU which is trying to impose its way on talks because it is not prepared to budge."
He also criticised the fact that the union had told its workers to hand over the retirement scheme applications when they received them. "It is obvious that this is an attempt at drawing a list of who is with the union and who is not. I condemn these sort of intimidating tactics and urge the union to rethink its position."
The GWU said last night it was prepared to continue talks on an early retirement scheme only if the government agreed to: retain the dockyard as one entity as a dockyard; speculation did not take place in the case of the dockyard; workers who opted to stay on would be given an employment guarantee, as was done at the Freeport; in parallel with the privatisation process, the government would help the workers set up a /cooperatives; Boiler wharf and the tank cleaning farm would remain part of the dockyard in the interests of viability; and, in terms of EU directives, the union would be consulted and informed on the privatisation process.
The union would be meeting workers again on Monday outside the shipyards. When faced with the main argument being made by the government in support of having the early retirement schemes now, which is that the 'yard's big workforce would scare off would-be investors, Mr Zarb said the government was not yet dealing with an investor and, therefore, it could not know how the investor would react.
Moreover, he added that a potential investor last year had told the GWU that it would actually be interested in increasing the workforce.
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Carmel Attard
Aug 3rd 2008, 00:08
Whether we like it or not, the facts are that: Those up the top .. the Fat Cats are always stuffing their pockets with big Mega Bucks. ... regardless of making a profit or not. Those down the line at the bottom, work their butt off , risk their lives and get crumbs! So it is the sacred duty of Unions and Government to see that those made redundunt recieve a compensation for loosing their jobs in face of privatisation of the Dockyard. Whenever there was privatisation .. it has always been a case of downsizing the workforce maximising more profits for the Fat Cats. So what's wrong with the poor worker who wants his FAIR share from this Greedy Deal??
victor vella
Aug 2nd 2008, 23:58
Excuse me, what happens if the company I work for goes bust?will the goverment subsidise it like it has been doing with the docks?
Mark Bugeja
Aug 2nd 2008, 23:07
I feel very sorry for the Shipyard workers. It is very difficult when you are undergoing a such difficult time when 1000 workers will be unemployed. One must not comment if he or she is not in their boots because I have relatives that are really suffering psychologically with this hobsons choice that the government gave them. This is an alarm for all workers working in the Parastal Sector such as Air Malta and Enemalta. The government issued letters to Shipyards employees signed by Dr Lawrence Gonzi confirming that no workers would loose their jobs. He gave also letter to Air Malta employees. Everyone must be sensitive and tolerent to others not be happy that the shipyard workers will loose their jobs. They have families.
A.Bonanno
Aug 2nd 2008, 16:58
Everyone is against the GWU, but please remember that a month before the general election the government stated that there are no plans of downsizing. Also before the election the Prime Minister in a local TV program stated that his party has never dumped employees. Please be realistic, the wages that are paid to Maltese workers have a multiplier effect on our economy. If the new owner will utilize foreigners the bulk of their wages would be spent in there country of origin. Also remember that besides the 1700 employees of Malta Shipyards there are hundreds of suppliers and subcontractors that earn a living from the yard. In other privatisations employees were guaranteed a job, are employees of Malta Shipyards 2nd class citizens? Please answer me a question who signed the contract of Fjord, were an enormous loss was registered? Do we have to blame employees also for this contract?
Joe Scerri
Aug 2nd 2008, 15:58
Its about time ALL workers face redundancy prospects equally.
If my private employer goes bust, do I get a golden hand shake, do I automatically get a job elsewhere? NO Will GWU or anyone else bat an eyelid if I end up unemployed? NO
So what do these people have more special than all those employed in the private sector, besides milking our taxes?
alfred agius
Aug 2nd 2008, 14:37
Shame. When our rights and aspirations are trampled and when we fight for our rights we expect everybody to show solidarity and understanding. For political reasons, we become insensitive to a degree that God Forbid than a J.Borg, C.Camilleri, or a Charles Camilleri are employers on whom workers and their families depend for their livehood. Can these gentlemen inform us of their profession so that we may be foursquare with them and their families once their employment is endangered by a goverment as insensitive as the present administration. Yes, dockyard workers. Go and opt for the early retirement scheme and see the lump sum vanish by the time you become a long term unemployed. Shame on people like the gentlemen referred to above...
Ronnie Gauci
Aug 2nd 2008, 14:32
If I was a Drydock worker I would take would it is being offered and shut up. Others aren't so priviliged, I am talking about factory and private sector workers who are being laid off on a daily basis without receiving anything.
Jeremy J Camilleri
Aug 2nd 2008, 14:13
I ve mentioned this in EVERY forum, but NEVER had an answer..Mystifying...Why are you all saying that the Docks should be locked, closed down etc?.
Were'nt the dock workers guranteed, not more than a few months ago, that they could look forward to a future within Malta Drydocks....?
Surprisingly, they were even given a signed letter ....
My Oh my....This is so confusing.....
As for Joe Borg....Please stick to the facts.....
It was AFTER privitisation, that other Govt. employees were given schemes and options which included reverting back to govt jobs.All AFTER the buyer was known....What is so different now?
One last fact for all of you complaining about paying taxes for white elephants...Not too long ago the GOVT. was complaining that most Govt departments were over staffed and that reductions had to be made...Lo and behold...last year saw a stiff increase in job vacancies with Govt. Depts.....talk about different weights and different measures.
Joseph E Briffa
Aug 2nd 2008, 13:42
Skilled workers who are prepared to do their job will take the retirement scheme and would probably use their skills and knowhow to set up shop on their own. The unskilled and the lazy ones will not, as they would rather stay put and keep milking the cow. If the GWU were well meaning it would stop hindering the process. As usual they want to bring matters to a head to put the government in bad light. They would rather precipitate matters and make it difficult for the government. As usual Toni Zarb is playing politics in the hope of wrecking the privatisation scheme and denying the government of another success story. Toni should have realised by now that this is all wishful thinking. Right-minded people are all for the government plan and no amount of trying to put spanners in the wheel will succeed. By now, the people are all too familiar with Toni's tactics. His efforts will not succeed; taxpayers want an end to this charade and are not prepared to carry the burden of paying the few hundreds of dead wood who will remain at the drydocks when the good ones have opted for the retirement scheme.
Victor Cassar
Aug 2nd 2008, 13:22
Poor old Tony ! He never learns. He did the same mistake on the USS LA SALLE. At that time he had an internal split where the two dockyard sections within the GWU were opposing each other. As usual Tony sided with the MIGHTY metal section and ignored the SMALL professionals section. But the SMALL overcame the MIGHTY and Tony was caught with his pants down. The majority of dokyard workers ignored his directives not to work on the LA SALLE and flocked to castille to sign the declaration requested by the government. Tony withdrew his directive and went to Castille to annouce his u-turn. And once again his post was saved by the bell ! Now he is repeating the same mistakes. He is telling workers to ignore the eraly retirement schemes to be issued by the Government. But the workers will not trust Tony and Gejtu anymore. They all remember what happened to Interprint and Sea Malta. Let Tony and Gejtu march through the streets. To keep his post , it is a must for Tony to march through the streets. And Gejtu loves it too ! And Tony must do what Gejtu loves to do or else......!!!
TONY MUSCAT
Aug 2nd 2008, 13:18
From the below comments was pointed out that all of them are talking in political minded but let pointed out that the shipyard workers case is one of the first one that is occurring under the umbrella of deficit income. Under the directives of the EU subsidiary allowance for deficit are not allowed and the government are going to consider to privatisation the company.
Who are next Enemalta or Freeport?
Both of them have huge deficit which all the country are suffering but no one talking about these companies.
joe borg
Aug 2nd 2008, 12:39
Send them home empty handed and lock the docks. We had enough of GWU and its interfering in the prosperity of the country. No other company when it lay off its people give them anything but only their notice and send them to Hal Far to register their name in the unemployment books. So dear GWU please do know that Malta owes the dockyards and you nothing but you do.
C. Camilleri
Aug 2nd 2008, 11:05
GWU, lay OFF those Shipyards workers who WANT an early retirement! By opposing & by trying to ask for certain guarantees, you are making it hard for the majority that wants to leave the Docks, and start a new life. OK fight for those who do not want to leave, yes by all means, but leave the others alone, let them choose their already made decesions.
Charles Camilleri
Aug 2nd 2008, 10:03
Everyone knows that the stand taken by the GWU is always to oppose the Government in everything it does . I cannot imagine the Union taking this attitude during a labour Government. After all in all previous liberisation and down sizing exercises the workers always got a good deal much more than one could imagine. So what is all this fuss about except to make it difficult for the Government. The GWU knows that subsidies will end by the end of the year and if things do not go well because of the union's rigidity the yard has to be declared bankrupt and the workers will be the worst effected. Their only choice then will be to knock at the doors of the GwU. Other yards in Poland and Greece are passing through a similar situation, but these have realised that the situation is hopeless and are cooperating to get the best results in the interest of all. One hope that our lose will not be their gain.