UPDATED: Ministry slams suggestion for dockyard workers to join IPSL

(Adds Labour Party statement)

The Finance Ministry said this afternoon that Labour leader Joseph Muscat’s call for dockyard workers to be given the option to transfer to IPSL Ltd – a government owned company – contradicted what the Labour Party had said in 2003, when the workers were given such an option.

At the time, the ministry said, the MLP had argued that valuable skills were being lost because workers were moving to IPSL where their trades were not being utilised in a productive manner. Now Dr Muscat was calling IPSL a success story.

While Dr Muscat was accusing the government of throwing money at the shipyards problem, instead of solving it, what he was proposing would amount to throwing money at the problem indefinitely. Dr Muscat’s proposal would cost the government €40 million a year, compared to the maximum one-time cost of €49 million for the early retirement schemes.

Furthermore, the government’s aim was not for the workers to retire and stay at home, but to find other productive jobs.

The ministry further pointed out that the schemes had to be offered now, because in terms of EU directives on transfer of business, once the new operator was identified, the new operator would absorb the workers at current conditions.

The ministry said no talks were currently being held with potential investors. The three companies indicated by the Labour leader had shown an interest last year and concluded that they could not continue the process because of the number of workers at Malta Shipyards.

The ministry welcomed the fact that Dr Muscat said he was in favour of privatisation, saying this was a victory for the Maltese people.

The Labour Party in a reaction to the ministry statement, said it would not get involved in political issues with the government on the shipyards.

“The interest of the MLP is the national interest and the interest of the workers, and we want a mature discussion,” the party said.

It also insisted that the government should account for the €100 million reportedly lost in the two Fairmount contracts.

The party also asked why the government was against transferring the workers to IPSL when it was so much in favour in the past.