GWU 'disgusted' by Enemalta chairman's comments

Jonathan Scerri

Nov 19th 2009, 11:46

@ Mario Nicchia
Very well said. People are risking their lives operating Marsa Power Station. I ahve myself experienced two such switchgear explosions and decided to quit the job. Colleagues of mine remained and got badly scalded by a feed pump failure. It will be only time until a fatality occurs. Hopefully, the station would be closed down before that.
OHSA where are you? Wake up please!

lgalea

Nov 19th 2009, 10:02

Joe Vella
Do you live in the South of the North of Malta?
Seems tat you live in the North.
The PN only lumped all the dirty projects in the South.
"Electricity and communications are two important pillars in attracting foreign investment."
If so, why do we still have a junkie power station after 22 years of PN government?
Thank you for this nice certificate for your party.

J Farrugia
Usual tirade of hatred against the workers representatives.

Gianni Xuereb
Alternativer energy by the PN?
The answer my friend,
is blowing in the wind,
the answer is blowing in the wing.

Christian Sciberras

Nov 19th 2009, 09:33

With all due respect to the parties involved, I would sabotage the power station because of the sheer lack of security.

I mean, look at it, how logical is keeping a generator in front of your house, unchained and all?

Who or what -ever was the cause, it isn't to blame him. If anything blame the incompetences.

As to those thinking we have an avante-garde power station, I can't but pity their ignorance.

James Formosa

Nov 19th 2009, 09:15

Gonzi ghalfejn ma tghamilx power station 'State of the Art' ? B'heqq ikollna post iehor 'state of the art' fejn ma jkollniex bizzejjeb haddiema b'esperjenza biex ihaddmuha, jew nuqqas ta' haddiema, jew haddiema inutli (li ddahhlu minn xi gvern tal-mument biex jixtri il-voti jew ghal xi pjacir!!). Insomma f'dan il pajjiz mhux dejjem hekk? Jew affarijiet ha jaqaw bicciet jew 'state of the art' ghal xejn.

Joe Vella

Nov 19th 2009, 06:08

@ J Spiteri

What ever progress that happened in Malta and in particularly in the South happened under PN Governments. Your anger should be at the PL and in particular for it's neglect not only of the whole of Malta, but in particular of that of the South of Malta.

Stephen Borg Cardona

Nov 18th 2009, 23:29

It would appear that the GWU do not understand Maltese ! Engineer Tranter did not accuse anyone !

j.spiteri

Nov 18th 2009, 22:30

@R Agius
For sure you are not older than 16 years. Brainwashed as you are I pity you for not having the slightest idea on local history of the past 50 years. And you talk about freedom and dignity, hah!

J Farrugia

Nov 18th 2009, 22:19

Mr tranter is the chairman and he can do nothing without the GWU's blessings. Even the whole management of enemalta can do nothing without the blessing of the GWU. So if there is monkey business going on, and there surely is some monkey businees going on at enemalta, it is the fault of the GWU. ANd for all of you, Mr Tranter did not accuse anyone but stated that this is going to be a criminal investigation. Againt whom HE DID NOT SAY. So what's the fear of this investigation? Are some workers implicated in this matter? Only asking. But the GWU gave the game away.

lgalea

Nov 18th 2009, 21:58

T Mifsud
Prove what you say Mifsud.
You know absolutely NOTHING about power generation and you know absolutely nothing on what you are talking about..

Gianni Xuereb

Nov 18th 2009, 20:42

@M. Avellino:

-2 to GonziPN. Happy now ?
1) Because it is unacceptable in year 2010 for a country this small have such regular blackouts.
2) Because the country still has 0% alternative and GonziPN's commitment in wind energy is just promises, promises and more promises.

Muscat. Pat

Nov 18th 2009, 20:02

@ Joe Vella.
Let someone remind Mr J Vella that his government had 22 years to get rid of the "junker" power station at Marsa, and yet 29 years after it was commissioned it is still the workhorse! Which means that -after 22 years to think it over -is too long to blame it on someone else. Mentioning obsolete technology....the Delimara has Indian technology, ...whilst the "new" dirty extention will be environmentally obsolete by EU standards in five or six years time.

Mario Nicchia

Nov 18th 2009, 19:08

@T. Mifsud

How can you call workers potential criminals? Do you know how it feels to work in constant danger, in an old plant that has condemnded switchgear still being operated? Instead of praisning these workers and thnaking them for doing the most to keep an outdated power station running you call them criminal each time a trip occurs....

I don't think these workers will like to see yourt comments after a day work were they extinguished a fire and restored all electricity to Malta.

On my part i would like to thank God that nobody got injured and thank however did something to restore the service.

@J.Martinelli, our Canadian friend (still very much bothered with Maltese electricity supply)

If you can link foul play because the shut down came on the same day that Enemalta was being mentioned you are very poor in your thoughts. just write 'enemalta' in the timeosfmalta search and you get enemalta mentioned everyday!! So each time a trip occurs now we can start calling it a sabotage.

this is a good way to alienate people from the fact that somebody long time ago promised investments to replace the old machinery at marsa...

R Agius

Nov 18th 2009, 18:53

....nearly forgot ... and they gave us DEMOCRACY!

R Agius

Nov 18th 2009, 18:33

@J Spiteri
GonziPn and Fenech AdamiPN gave us freedom, choice, education - primary, secondary and tertiary, high quality jobs, healthcare, a multitude of new industries, tourism figures the MLP never dreamed of, EU membership and Euro, mobility throughout the EU and a standard of living most other countries around the world dream of. Other than that they haven't done much - really!

j.spiteri

Nov 18th 2009, 18:21

@Joe Vella
What you say is partly true but this happened 40 years ago. The old dilapidated power station we rely on today in Marsa was refubished last under a Labour Government 40 years ago. What has your dear GonziPn done about it since? Promises promises promises! We lesser citizens from the south grow fat on promises.

J Martinelli

Nov 18th 2009, 18:10

The aging machinery at the Marsa Power station is experienced, intelligent, has a wonderful sense of timing and somehow baffles the engineers who are paid good money in order to maintain it and prevent such occurrences.

Alas, the Police who know nothing about energy generation, are supposed to determine whether it was equipment failure, aided no doubt, by the same engineers who work at the station!
The GWU is commenting about comments 'reportedly' made by Mr. Tranter about the possibility of the failure originating other than by equipment failure. Why comment on 'reported' comments? Could they not have obtained a recording of Mr. Tranter's remarks thus eliminating any 'reported' rumours about the contents of Mr. Tranter's statement?

If indeed it was equipment failure, then the Delimara expansion should be implemented with utmost urgency.

Joe Vella

Nov 18th 2009, 18:09

@ Manuel Micallef

When the PL was in Government had a choice about a Power Plant, it choose to buy an old JUNKER from Sicily instead of beginning the process to Modernising the country. It could also be said for the Telecommunication system. If it was for the PL, we wouldn't be commenting in here.

The very first thing that a PN Government did once elected was to throw away the old junk that the PL had purchased and equipped Malta with a state of the art communications system. Electricity and communications are two important pillars in attracting foreign investment. Something that successive Lejber Governments couldn't understand.

In Malta we are still paying the price for years of neglect by Lejber Government in the lack of investment in Malta's infrastructure.

P Borg

Nov 18th 2009, 18:05

Amazing how the GWU always has all the answers!! So Tony Zarb and his union categorically dismiss any hint of sabotage in this situation - are they worried about the outcome of a magisterial inquiry? How do they know? I, for one, have no clue as to whether this was sabotage or not but there have been too many coincidences and we all hope that no one has stooped that low and if they have that the full force of the law be brought down on them. If on the other hand there is no such sabotage then we will all be thankful for it too.

However, we need to know and dismissing the possibility outright does not fill anyone with the confidence that we have allowed due process to take place.

I fully support Alex Tranter in doing the right thing. We should all support such openness and independent inquiry - as we should in all such abnormal situations. It is high time we stopped politicizing and started criticising!

M. Avellino

Nov 18th 2009, 17:54

Gianni Xuereb ....kif tridu inzeffnu lill Gonzi f'kull ma jigri? Ikolli nghid li jekk din ix-xitwa ikollna hafna bard jew xita tort ta Gonzi jkun!!!! L-Inglizi jghidu 'sour grapes'

Manuel Micallef

Nov 18th 2009, 17:50

To our dearest Joseph E Briffa;

The Marsa powerstation did it role brilliantly even though it was second hand equipment. It managed to supply these isalnd with electric for many many years...

But your GonziPN has been promising to close it down for over a decade now.... and also promising to link us to the grid for another decade too.

All promises, all day dreaming, but NO ACTION.

j.spiteri

Nov 18th 2009, 17:37

And why, I ask Mr Tranter, would the Enemalta employees sabotage their workplace?

John Abela

Nov 18th 2009, 17:35

Issa nispiccaw xi libell ihor u viva taxpayer u kazijiet pendenti. Vera pajjiz tad dahq ta xi kultant...kulhadd jakkuza. Glied u divizjoni bejn l Maltin flok jaqduna. Imma nirringrazzja lil Times of Malta talli juruwna dawn it-telenovelas haha. Safejn naf jien Mr.Tranter huwa wkoll responsabbli ghal ghemil tal-haddiema u l-infrastruttura tal enemalta jigifieri jekk jonqsu l-haddiema jkun naqas hu wkoll ghax responsabbilta taqa' tahtu.

Joseph E Briffa

Nov 18th 2009, 17:25

As the GWU pointed out, the plant at the Marsa Power Station is old and comprises refurbished turbines purchased from Sicily in the 1980s; a poor subsitute for new equipment. But that's what the administration of the time decided.. It is thanks to the Delimara Power station built in the 1990s that we don't get more frequent power cuts like we used to have in the 1980s. Unfortunately, Enemalta cannot afford to close down the Marsa Plant as yet as the existing Delimara Plant on its own is apparently unable to meet the peak demand; hence the projected extension. The sooner this extension is commissioned the better. The same for the connection to the European Grid. It is also thanks to the engineers and their dedicated staff that the old plant at the Marsa is still functioning and is tiding us over until such time as the Delimara extension is brought on stream and the connection to the European Grid becomes a reality..

eddie bonello

Nov 18th 2009, 17:12

Well said GWU

As to you Mr. Tranter what was all this haste to point your finger and cry SABOTAGE, because it is quite evident that workers who dutifuly did their job and minimised damages and brought the situation back to normal in the least possible time are the prime suspects. Did you arrive at this conclusion after some internal inquiry or you just configured this in your mind???

Shame on you Tranter..Shame Shame Shame

adrian aquilina

Nov 18th 2009, 17:08

the bills go up and the service stays as useless as always....time the government spent money on the crumblig infrasructure of this fallig apart country,in over 20 yearts they have not upgraded this country..competition is what we need with our services..having 1 provider is not good for us

jimi Xerri

Nov 18th 2009, 16:57

Lets wait for the investigations to end, and results published. But lets all be clear about it, doesn't the Maltese public think that major mishaps occur when a major event is to take or has just taken place, or when some good news props up, ergo, affecting MALTA in a negative way.

Joe Micallef

Nov 18th 2009, 16:45

Ara veru dik milli ikkolha ittik! and how about comments on your own dissenting officials, shop stewards and the like of a while ago. Incredible!!!!!!

Gianni Xuereb

Nov 18th 2009, 16:39

+1 Enemalta workers
-1 Tranter
-1 GonziPN

Manuel Micallef

Nov 18th 2009, 16:38

Mr Tranter - yes it was a sabotage - by those persons who said that they would close this old powerstation ages ago, a promise which never happened!!!

Peter Calleja

Nov 18th 2009, 16:36

Mr Tranter - your time as Chairman of Enemalta is up. If you cannot take care of your prime assets - THE WORKERS - you should just bury yourself in an office, lock the door and just do your work. We have just too many big-headed, politically-appointed, hokkli-dari people running important institutions in this country. And shooting your mouth off against your very own workers will come back to haunt you one day.

T Mifsud

Nov 18th 2009, 16:32

The GWU can be disgusted as much as it wants. Facts are facts and instead of coming out stating that it will support the police in its investigations, it issued a rash statement in defence of potential criminals.

I am disgusted at GWU! Is this the new branding?