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.