Wrong-ending story

The never-ending story of disbursements of public funds to keep the dockyard going is heading towards a wrong ending. Everyone now agrees in principle that the 'yard should be privatised. The way the government is going about doing it, however, could jeopardise the objective. It is basing itself on two assumptions. One, that according to EU, law a private entity that buys the 'yard will be stuck with the employees and conditions of employment it takes over. The other, that the four main activities which presently engage 1,627 employees will not support even half that number.

If assumption one seems to be well based, similar assurance is not there regarding the second, which arose from unnamed expert advice. Similar advice was already found wanting once. Before 2003, the government was advised the dockyard did not require more than 1,700 workers. It whittled the workforce down to that level through employee buyouts, getting the balance of skills wrong in the process. It now results that even the number was wrong. Irrespective of productivity inadequacy and huge losses reportedly made on a mysterious contract or two, anonymous experts now put the 'yard's total requirement at a fraction of that set five years ago.

The government, therefore, has published four schemes to entice workers to apply to leave their 'yard job and good luck to them if they find a job elsewhere clutching a fistful of euros, or enjoy wasteful early retirement. The authorities have also made a remarkable commitment - all applications under the four schemes will be accepted. Hypothetically, therefore, if all the 1,627 employees respond positively to the schemes of the Ministry of Finance, the private interests that eventually take over the 'yard will buy into land and equipment, without any human resources.

Try another hypothesis. Of the 1,627 employees, all those who hold a trade required by a modern ship and yacht maintenance 'yard (or 'yards) apply under the schemes, and so leave. Private bidders would be applying for a 'yard whose workers do not hold the requisite skills. One can make various similar permutations. Each and all would show the absurdity of the way the government is trying to privatise the 'yard. For some reason the government is refusing to go about its objective through the obvious realistic way. Which is, to invite offers on the basis of a business plan which, among other things, sets out how many workers the bidder would require to start with, and in what grades - with the undertaking by the government that it would reduce the workforce to that level by the time the deal was done.

The authorities refuse to contemplate that they are in error in trying to shed off tradesmen before knowing how many are actually required. Do not be surprised if several hundred employees apply for one of the exit schemes, only for the government to find that potential bidders cannot work adequately with the numbers and skills-mix thereof left on the 'yard's books.

Surely, there is a better way forward. See what business plans are presented to determine the overall most advantageous offer; see what the jobs element in it is; put forward early-leaving schemes; see what the residual who prefer to continue to work in the maritime sector is and assist the workers involved to form a cooperative, carefully helped along with the unutilised balance of €49 million of public funds which the Finance Minister said was the limit which the employee shedding should cost.

If, instead, the government continues to be pigheaded and sheds workers, irrespective of what the private bidders' requirements might be, we are in for further waste of public funds, possibly to make way for a 'yard staffed by expatriate workers and - ironically - a sprinkling from among those who take money under one of the four schemes. Can any sensible government be so short-sighted? So determined to write the wrong script?