Union insists it was only consulted twice

The General Workers’ Union was only consulted twice on the talks between STMicroelectronics and the government, it said.

It said the government was trying to "absolve itself by making statements full of half truths" and described the government’s claim that the union was kept constantly informed on the talks as "completely not true".

The GWU said it only started discussions with the company on April 23 when ST presented a list of austerity measures it wanted to introduce.

"In no time during these discussions was the GWU negotiating a collective agreement but simply a package of austerity measures, so much so that the union made it amply clear to the government and the company that any decisions were to be approved by the workers prior to implementation."

On June 29, as Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Finance Minister Tonio Fenech visited ST’s Kirkop plant, the government announced the company would be installing a new high-end production line using government aid.

However, a vote taken by union members on proposed wage increase moratoriums on Friday rejected them outright, reportedly causing the company to threaten to go back on its investment.

Since then, Mr Fenech said he was prepared to meet GWU members to explain the importance of accepting the austerity measures proposed by STMicroelectronics and the significance of its investment.

The GWU said that during the 18 months of discussions between the government and the company about 1,000 jobs were axed. "This justifies the union’s concern of the time the talks were taking and its insistence for the discussions to be concluded," the GWU said, adding it would continue to be available to take part in any talks with the government and ST in the best interest of the workers, the company and the country.

When contacted, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said he had already said he was open to meet the staff and did not want talks between the union and the government to be replaced by argumentation in the press.

He said the union was informed "several times" on developments during talks between ST and the government. In the first stages, the government’s efforts were directed towards keeping the company in Malta.

The writing was already on the wall that the company was going to leave, Mr Fenech said, adding that when they convinced the company to stay it was the GWU’s turn to represent its workers and make sure the company could operate from a solid base. This entailed a moratorium on wage increases, stemming from a collective agreement signed two and a half years ago, which were rendering the company’s Maltese operation expensive and ultimately unsustainable.

Mr Fenech said the union had done its negotiations with ST properly but the GWU had seemingly not communicated well enough with its members. However, it could not blame the government for announcing the investment, rather the workers should have seen the announcement as an incentive for accepting the measures and as a sign the company was willing to stay, the minister said.

A ministry spokesman said the government still had not been approached for a possible meeting on behalf of the workers.