Shipyard management accuses GWU of jeopardising privatisation
The management of the shipyards will be instigating legal action against the General Workers Union on Monday saying that industrial action ordered today was in breach of the collective agreement and a subsequent agreement reached on Wednesday.
In a statement, the management said the action ordered by the union today brought the Marsa facility to a standstill. The action was called because employees who had previously taken up the Voluntary Redundancy Scheme and who were working on a casual basis were released from duty, it said.
The management said that unless the union wanted to risk the livelihood of its members, the GWU should reconsider and take immediate corrective action before it further jeopardised the successful privatisation of the shipyard.
It said that following the wide take-up of the Voluntary Redundancy Scheme and because the shipyard was still working on a number of conversion and yachting projects, the management agreed on the various transition issues with the GWU a few days ago.
The agreement included a commitment to strictly follow the collective agreement to the benefit of the privatisation process and the completion of work. In executing the agreements, the company issued a release notice to 148 Maltese workers, leaving 733 Maltese employees in its various sites as well as some 105 temporary foreign workers. The release of the 148 employees did not affect their benefit from the scheme or their salary till the end of the year.
The management said that the action ordered by the GWU would have an impact on the work in progress, leading to additional cost to Malta Shipyards Ltd. It could also affect the privatisation process and the future of the workers who did not accept the schemes offered.
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Joseph Ellul
Dec 20th 2008, 09:49
The GWU must call a 12 month work to rule as it did in the 1968. No ships in or out. This is the only way to topple the Gonzi pn. OR IS IT? The GWU is no longer the big bad powerful union of the past but the small old brotherhood of the commies. The workers are the meat in the sandwich and the GWU is treating them as pawns, as always. I hope Gonzi does what is right for the country.
Manuel Mifsud
Dec 20th 2008, 09:24
@Mr/Ms I Galea
What about your hatred towards the Gonzipn government?
lgalea
Dec 20th 2008, 08:53
joe azzopardi, J Oatmon
Your hatred towards the Shipyard workers and lackeyism for FOREIGNERS and the Idol of privatization has to be read to be believed.
Why don't you criticize the FOREIGN person who entrusted to conduct the negotiations for the Fairmount contract and vanished after it turned out that he had saddled the Shipyard with an unprofitable contract?
Have you seen how PRIVATE enterprises turned towards their Governments to save them notwithstanding both the PRIVATE enterprises and the Governments are firm believers in PRIVATIZATION?
Have you seen what happened in the USA, the CAPITAL of CAPITALISM?
Oatmon, as for your allegations about workers not doing their duty, that is a blatant lie, because they have palm readers everywhere, at the Shipyard entrance, in their workshops to indicate when they arrive and when they leave, and also near their work, e.g. near the docks to make sure that they arrive in time.
Oatmon, you do not have a finger in the pie do you?
You cry for privatization.
So we privatize for 40-50 years, the private enterprise takes the profit and then we make it public again. How convenient!
How about privatizing our incompetent Gonzipn government.
Jo Said
Dec 20th 2008, 08:19
@ Joe Azzopardi and his ilk
Give me one reason why you are so hostile towards the workers at the shipyards. Just one would do. If you need prodding, have a chat with Eddie Fenech Adami. He knows why he failed to visit the 'yards, in both capacities.... ie as PM and as President.
The Nationalist Party has a lot of apologising to do. Until it does, take your head out of the sand and start living freely.
J Oatmon
Dec 20th 2008, 08:00
@ michael fenech
In my opinion the best solution is to privatise these 'old style' state companies, this helps so the get rid of ld ways of working, special interests claiming their 'rights' , and helps modernise and make everyone accountable.
If a worker is always late or not willing to do certain tasks etc., while another worker is on time and willing to work, then the bad worker should go and the good worker stay - this should be the case whever the worker calls home within the EU.
Malta is an island but it is no longer isolated Malta is part of the EU with this comes advantages and disadvantages like everything in life.
Malta has to look to the future not the past - if 'the grand plan' has failed (such as the shipyards), then change is needed, and a better plan needs to be put in place.
Why not give privitisation a try for 40-50 years like Malta did with the old 'aristocrat workers' system - if it fails then change it again.
joe azzopardi
Dec 20th 2008, 00:13
shipyard workers are workers and should obey their employers orders not hold the stake holders ( the maltese tax payer ) at ransom come 2009 and thank our lucky stars the aristocracy of the workers bye bye
michael fenech
Dec 19th 2008, 21:26
@ J. Oatmon
The general puplic does not wantto keep spending money vast amounts on a losing business so that some workers can have an easy life at their expense. They want the shipyards off their hands.
So, are you telling us that we the general puplic should wash our hands off Enemalta, because this cost us a lot of money and still is, meanly because of mismanagement just like the shipyards,not the workers.
lgalea
Dec 19th 2008, 20:57
J Oatmon
The Shipyards belong to all the MALTESE people so MALTESE workers should be the last discharged not having FOREIGN workers kept in employment while MALTESE workers are sent away. The Shipyards do NOT belong to FOREIGN workers or FOREIGNERS Oatman.
And it is not an easy life that Shipyard workers have.
Maybe you should have worked there yourself if you think that they have an easy life.
You will be surprised not to say shocked.
Why don't you blame the person for bankrupting the Shipyard through the Fairmount contract?
Or you do not want to do that because he was a FOREIGNER.
J. Tonna
Dec 19th 2008, 20:54
@ igalea - If i can read well 733 MALTESE workers were kept working at the Shipyards. So....
mike pace
Dec 19th 2008, 20:37
The shipyard management are put in their chairs because they are friends of friends and backed by the Gonzipn and they do what the government says
Foreign employees are taken our workload from our children and been blessed by the Nationalist Party government all the way and as we say Kollox Huwa Possibli - HA - HA - HA !!!
J Oatmon
Dec 19th 2008, 20:20
@ lgalea
"WHY should MALTESE workers be discharged and foreign workers kept working in OUR SHIPYARD in OUR OWN COUNTRY"
- Answer the shipyards do not belong to the shipyard workers, and are not 'owned' by any shipyard workers. In effect the shipyards belong to all those who live in Malta who pay taxes, including the government - and this means most of the owners are not shipyard workers or union members, they are the general public.
The general public does not want to keep spending vast amounts of money on a losing business so that some workers can have an easy life at their expense - they want the shipyards off their hands and to be some one else's problem.
lgalea
Dec 19th 2008, 19:27
WHY should MALTESE workers be discharged and foreign workers kept working in OUR SHIPYARD in OUR OWN COUNTRY Shipyard management foreigners lackeys?