Unions in dispute with Go over potential lay-offs

Telecoms company Go is facing an industrial dispute with three unions over its decision to lay off workers should a voluntary retirement scheme not be taken up by enough employees.

The industrial dispute was registered by the Union of Maltacom Graduates (UGM), the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin (UĦM) and the General Workers' Union (GWU).

Employees had received a letter from the company's chief executive officer David Kay telling them that if the scheme was not subscribed by as many workers as expected, then the company would have to make dismissals.

Following a meeting with the management yesterday, the unions said they could not understand how the company wanted to reduce its workforce when it was farming out work which could have easily been done by its own employees. They said that despite stiff competition, the company still managed to make a higher profit last year.

They also pointed out that the management was going to buy out another company in the telephony sector with its own workers.

The unions appealed to workers to stay united and on the lookout for any directives that may be issued in the near future.

Go, which rebranded itself in 2007, currently has 1,350 full-time staff on its books, mostly inherited from its predecessors in title Telemalta Corporation and Maltacom.

This early retirement scheme is expected to close on May 31. Go's competition, Melita and Vodafone, employ 300 people each.

In its reaction, the telecoms company reiterated its aim of finalising the restructuring process by reducing its headcount to 1,000 employees.

"If the target is not achieved through this last voluntary retirement scheme, the decrease in headcount will be met via other measures, including redundancies, in accordance with all relevant legislation and within the parameters of the current collective agreement," the company said.

It said it has been working closely with all unions by providing the necessary information with respect to the restructuring process throughout the organisation. In addition, the GWU had agreed with the terms of the current Voluntary Retirement Scheme.

It said the main focus of the "rightsizing" was the fixed line business. The current scheme was launched in July 2008 and interested employees had enough time to obtain assistance on pensions, alternative employment and re-training, it said.

It described the scheme as one of the most generous launched locally, with payouts reaching up to €60,000.