GWU chief hits out at Prime Minister over economic situation comments

The general secretary of the General Workers' Union, Tony Zarb yesterday accused the Prime Minister of asking the country's social partners to project a skewed image of the economic situation.

Mr Zarb said Lawrence Gonzi invited the social partners to speak more positively about the country during a meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development two weeks ago.

"But how can we do this? How can we tell people nothing is wrong if there are so many problems? Shall we tell them to be happy and pretend we're not living in this country," Mr Zarb asked, while concluding a union seminar on maritime and aviation issues.

However, according to the Parliamentary Secretary for Dialogue, Chris Said, who was present for the MCESD meeting, it was the social partners themselves, including the GWU, that called for everyone to emphasise Malta's positive aspects so as not to harm consumer confidence and "shoot ourselves in the feet".

He said he was surprised by Mr Zarb's comments because the spirit of the meeting was one of consensus where the social partners agreed that, while being realistic, they should not give rise to uncertainty and fear.

"The Prime Minister gave a very detailed presentation of the situation in Malta, comparing it with other countries in the EU, according to official statistics. He definitely did not ask anyone to speak in unrealistic terms," Dr Said commented when contacted.

The director general of the Malta Employers' Association, Joe Farrugia said he did not attend the meeting but from what he was told he was convinced Dr Gonzi's intention was simply to ensure consumer confidence was not hampered unnecessarily.

"It's the difference between saying the recession has not hit us as badly as other countries and that the recession will soon hit us as badly as in other countries. We cannot lie and say unemployment did not go up or that our economy grew but we should also mention the positive aspects," Mr Farrugia said.

Mr Zarb said the country's problems included price increase, worsening job conditions, unemployment and company downsizing.

He criticised Dr Gonzi for prematurely pronouncing himself against lowering VAT on restaurants and hotels, even though a petition was being raised asking Parliament to consider such a possibility.

Mr Zarb argued that the country was experiencing precarious working conditions and this was undoing all that had been gained in the past when people fought for better conditions.

"There are people working in illegal conditions. Some are getting paid below the minimum wage and the rate remains the same whether they work overtime, at night, on Sundays or on public holidays."

He called for workers to give a sign that no one could exploit them.

The union, he said, was working to get compensation for those Freeport workers who were suspended without pay when the GWU had ordered industrial action some months ago.

He accused the Freeport management of being arrogant and criticised the Malta International Airport management for adopting a negative attitude towards the GWU.

Mr Zarb called for a decision to be taken on the future of horse-driven cabs that used to be stationed in front of the Presidential Palace, in Valletta.

After the refurbishment of the square there, the government should allocate a decent space to the owners and their horses.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com