Updated: Mepa union orders industrial action

Adds Mepa reaction:

The Mepa Professional Workers' Union (UPAP) has ordered industrial action over the redeployment of staff.

It said it had resorted to action after the government confirmed today that it intends to proceed with the transfer of staff under Article 15A of the ETC act - Redundancy and Redeployment.

"According to legal advice given to UPAP, the use of this article confirms that the employees in question are being made redundant. This goes against Article 33 of the Collective Agreement which requires redeployment to other sections within MEPA prior to redundancy." the union said.

It added that it had tried to resolve the issue without resorting to industrial actions but meetings with government representatives did not yield any results,

The union said it was directing its members not to have meetings with ministers and/or parliamentary secretaries; not to answer the phone or communicate by e-mail of fax, not to arrange new meetings with the public, consultants, architects and applicants and not to set new meetings with representatives of local councils, government departments and/or ministries.

They are also not to attend meetins abroad and not to process environmental registrations.

The UHM last month also ordered industrial action at the Authority over redeployments as part of the Mepa reform.

MEPA REACTION

In a reaction, Mepa said the government Government had decided that as part of the MEPA reform process currently underway, a number of non-core functions currently carried out by MEPA are to be transferred to the relative entities which are carrying out such functions.

"Discussions with unions on the redeployment of staff are currently being held. During these discussions, Government is reiterating its position that the employees currently carrying out these functions will be redeployed to the new entities, without losing any of the benefits they currently enjoy. Moreover, these employees are being offered the opportunity to apply for positions and promotions, both with MEPA and the receiving entity," the Authority said.

" It is therefore inexplicable why the UPAP has called for industrial action, more so when to date, the order for redeployment has not even been issued."