More than 1,500 jobs saved through ST agreement - Tony Zarb
GWU General Secretary Tony Zarb said today that workers at ST Microelectronics would only be losing €250 over two years as a result of the new austerity measures introduced by the company, rather than the €2,000 a year as had been originally proposed.
He said the reduction had come about thanks to intensive efforts by the General Workers' Union.
Speaking during an extraordinary general conference of the union's Metal and Construction Section, he said that through the agreement, the 1,500 jobs at ST had been saved, together with the jobs of other workers who worked for sub-contractors.
Mr Zarb noted that in the past days, a number of ST Microelectronics employees became new union members.
In his speech, Mr Zarb said the GWU was proud to boast that its principles were not for sale. Methods changes over the years, he said but the union’s principles did not.
Mr Zarb paid tribute to Sammy Meilaq, who has retired from president of the section and described him as a special friend.
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mario pandolfino
Jul 29th 2010, 09:34
Prosit lil gvern ,specjalment lil Ministru Tonio Fenech ,prosit l'St ,il haddiema u l GWU talli instabet soluzjoni biex din il kumpanija importanti ghal Malta tkompli miexja il quddiem ghal gid ta kulhadt .
Albert Zammit
Jul 29th 2010, 09:01
Saved through GWU Intervention??????? Have we forgotten the first ballot, which would have seen the end of ST Micro?? Oh No. The GWU had nothing to do with saving jobs. It was the PM and the Minister of Finance who averted the total collapse of ST, when they opened the workers' eyes to what would have befallen on them if they dont approve the agreements as requested by ST Micro. Where was the GWU? Why did the majority of its members vote against the agreement? So the GWU should not strout like a peacock seeking glory for itself. Where it for the GWU, ST Micro will have left our island by this week and our economy would now be in tatters. Thanks to the GWU.
malcolm seychell
Jul 28th 2010, 23:31
Hallina Tony!!! salva il jobs hej
emmanuel zammit
Jul 28th 2010, 20:05
good luck to MR Meilaq.
let us hope that we will be effected €250 only Mr Zarb . If not dont worry we will contact you again.
john ellul
Jul 28th 2010, 20:00
Mr ZARB What you are going to sign we will see the effect in the wages.!for know we leave it in your hand but if we see that our wages had been effected more then you are saying we will come all to your office and we will talk there then!
grazie
E Schembri
Jul 28th 2010, 18:58
Power of Ideology or the Ideology of Power ????
I salute my friend Sammy Mailaq
Anthony Castello
Jul 28th 2010, 18:39
Another job well done, keep up the good work GONZI PN.t his shows who realy knows economics by fact not by just talking infront of a couple of dozen suporters who still keeps on thinking that may be someday the MLP COULD BE IN POWER. God only knows when.
J Brincat
Jul 28th 2010, 18:30
And what will happen after 2 years? More austery measures as has become the custom with this company.
Is it the case that this company stamps its feet and everyone trembles?
r pace bonello
Jul 28th 2010, 18:10
No doubt Mr Zarb is a happy camper! 1500 less members would have been disastrous!
Charles J. Buttigieg
Jul 28th 2010, 17:21
@ Gianninu Saliba.
The games of politics as well as the industrial relations negotiations have no rules or tactics written on stone. Each side labours to get the best results for itself while, in a responsible manner, both sides work not to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. The end justifies the means is too crude and arrogant a term to describe the result of the negotiations, the final agreement was in fact the result of Management,Government,Opposition,GWU and the workers quest for an amicable solution. And the goose that lays the golden egg was saved to the advantage of all.
G.Debono
Jul 28th 2010, 17:45
Let's be frank, irrespective of what colour or creed one is, neither any opposition or any union (GWU / UHM) had any finger in the success of this (even if PN were in the opposition and the union representing the workers was the UHM) beyond not causing a stir and instigating the employees about any agreement. Which would be self defeating in itself and by now the ETC would be having one mountain of job find work for a thousand people.
The only 3 REAL entities for this success, were the Management representing ST, the workers and the government (as representative of the people of Malta) in offering incentives.
GWU just consulted the people on what they wanted and Labour sat pretty without the usual stir (which is good, but they had no say in the success, did they, or should we thank them for not causing a stir?)
As I said before, the same could be said if the sky was red and the opposition was blue. It would've certainly been a management's, a worker's and the government's success.
Just one thing. Funny you mentioned Labour but not AD, AN as part of your imagined success.
Charles J. Buttigieg
Jul 28th 2010, 19:21
@ G.Debono
Success has a thousand fathers,failure is an orphan.
Albert Zammit
Jul 29th 2010, 09:11
Charles Buttigieg get your red blinkers off and just tell us what the Opposition did to safeguard jobs at ST Micro. Just tell us what any of the Opposition Party did to safeguard the jobs. Nothing except sitting pretty as usual inciting behind the scenes the workers to vote NO (as usual) to austerity measures, like what happened in AirMalta. It had to be Dr George Abela who saved the day at the time. Certainly not the opposition. On one thing I'm in agreement with your. Success has many unknown fathers while failure has only one. The Government. Usual story.
Charles J. Buttigieg
Jul 28th 2010, 16:50
According to Tony Zarb the 1500 workers at ST Microelectronics would only be losing €250 over two years as a result of the new austerity measures introduced by the company. This amounts to €375,000 in two years or € 187,500 in one year. It could also be interpreted that the company will be saving €375,000 per year for two years. Is there something missing in this report? Surely ST Microelectronics did not become so weak to become dependent on a silver collection from its workers. A clarification is in order here or maybe I’m missing something.
J Cassar
Jul 28th 2010, 16:47
250 Euros every 2 years??? A BIG BIG joke :) go and speak to the operators (my relatives work there) and check exactly how much Mr. Zarb !!!!! Oh or is it 250 Eu a month?
M Vella
Jul 28th 2010, 16:46
Well done to all those involved
John Axiak
Jul 28th 2010, 16:44
bla dubju li l-pakkett ghen imma issa ara ma npengux li isu l-ST baqat malta grazzi ghal GWU ta
il-gvern intervjena b pakkett ta alla wahdu jaf jemm jiswa miljuni f ghajnuna ta investiment u tahrig (ovvjament mit-taxxi taghna) imma dik li ghamlet id-differenza
ovvjament l-agreement mal-GWU ffacilita l affarijiet kollha. igifieri prosit ghalihom ukoll
Ix-xhur ta negozjati bejn tonio fenech u l-ST zgur li fissru hafna!
il verita hi li l-Labour biss dejjem prova jaghmel il hsara fuq l-ST - u kien jippreferi li kieku titlaq.
Albert Farrugia
Jul 28th 2010, 17:18
Sur Axiak,
kemm infakkrek li l-ST gabha gvern Laburista fl-1980. Tibdewx issa anki tipprovaw tbiddlu l-istorja u s-sewwa maghruf. U jekk il-gvern tahom xi incentiv dan gej mit-taxxi tieghi u tieghek, mhux minn but la Tonio Fenech u lanqas Gonzi. Il-gvern bil-fors kellu jaghti l-incentivi, jigifieri mhemmx lok ta' ftahir hawn. U fuq kollox, kien Fenech stess li fahhar l-agir tal-GWU, fl-intervista mat-Times nhar il-Hadd.
robert bezzina
Jul 28th 2010, 18:32
Huwa minnu li l-ST gabha l-Labour. Imma jibqa l-fatt li fid-diskussjonijiet attwali ma tat ebda kontribut hlief attentat li taghmel il hsara.
Huwa ovvju li xejn ma kien jaghti lill-PL aktar pjacir milli jghidu
'gibniha ahna, tilfuha huma'. That's Labour.
Veru - l-investiment gie bl-incentivi mit-taxxi . Jigifieri issa bdjena naraw vera fejn imorru t-taxxi taghna, biex isalvaw l-impjiegi.
Tal-PL it-taxxi jridhom biex ihallas vat ghal min xtara xi karozza expensive!
Albert Zammit
Jul 29th 2010, 09:07
Albert il-gvern seta' ma ta ebda ghajnuna lil ST u gie jaqa u jqum mill-haddiema u jibghathom ifittxu xoghol iehor. Imma Gvern li ghad ghandhu kuxjenza socjali ma jaghmilx dawn l-affarijiet. Hemm fin-nofs l-ghajxien tal-haddiema u l-familji taghhom u hemm fin-nofs l-ekonomija tal-pajjiz. ALlura l-gvern tal-PN ta l-incentivi li jaghti lil kull kumpanija serja ohra, bhalma diga' ghamel, u salva s-sitwazzjoni. Il-haddiema kellhom ghazla wahda quddiemhom, li l-GWU ma qaltilhomx biha. Jew japprova mizuri ta awsterita li riedet il-kumpanija jew jinghalaq il-bieb darba ghal dejjem u addio l-impjieg taghhom. Din ma kienetx kapaci tghidu l-GWU. Kienet taf bis-sitwazzjoni mweghra li ried il-management. U hbietu mill-haddiema.
Celine Farrugia
Jul 28th 2010, 16:40
So this is considered a good deal?...I am lost!
Gianninu Saliba
Jul 28th 2010, 16:27
Tony is indirectly implying that had the company refused to hold further talks after the first vote was taken more than 1,500 jobs would have been lost. This would have meant that the GWU would have made more than 1,500 loose there jobs just because they never explained to them that unless there would be austerity measures the company would have packed and left. Well the ST employees must understand that Tony and his clan at the General Workers Union played Russian Roulette with your jobs. Had ST accepted to hold further talks but refused to budge on the austerity measures, would Tony have gone back to the workers and told them "Sorry, you have all lost your job because we never told you that we knew that 1,500 plus jobs would be lost if the austerity measures are not introduced"
Albert Farrugia
Jul 28th 2010, 16:56
So what is your solution Gianninu? That the workers, of any sector, simply accept with heads bowed whatever the employer in his infinite mercy offers them? Or else the sack? Is this what your PN is all about? Well, your beloved PN managed to fool many (including myself) that this was NOT its policy. But comments such as yours make the PN's mask very transparent.
The PN government has managed to break the back of the Unions. Many have applauded it. But to whom can now job-holders turn in times of trouble? At least in the case of ST, what's left of the GWU has managed to offer some effective resistance.
J. Mifsud
Jul 28th 2010, 16:27
My advice to all ST employees: Join the union which you sincerely think can safeguard your job. If you are united, you will be a force that nobody will treat as puppets on a string.
I believe that at this point in time the GWU has done a good and sensible job to safeguard the employment of all ST employees. I am pretty sure that when the time is ripe the GWU will bring you more benefits.
The authorities that be, will be in a better position to treat you as dirt if you are not united.
Be intelligent enough to weigh what happened before and after your first vote.
Who do you think took you for a ride before your first vote?
The GWU do not play in the hands of the Government.
Congratulations to all ST employees.
c. camilleri
Jul 28th 2010, 15:42
Tony what about Government's assistance to the company??????????????
Sandro Aquilina
Jul 28th 2010, 16:01
what about the utility tariffs imposed?
M.Gauci
Jul 28th 2010, 16:33
Erm, Sandro Aquilina, those were not imposed by Malta but by foreign suppliers. Where do you think we get our oil? From Bir Nr. 7?
Don't let your labourite blinkers obscure reality. I don't think ST in China or France or from wherever it operates get utilities for free. Do you?
Bert Curmi
Jul 28th 2010, 22:32
@ M. Gauci
Correction: The utility tariffs were imposed by the present government to make up for the gross inefficiencies of Enemalta as well as to make up for a number of misguided and irresponsible decisions taken by some of its ministers. Full stop.
Jesmond Micallef
Jul 28th 2010, 15:40
Go for it ST Microelectronics Malta. Show the world what you are really made of !! Well done to the General Workers Union.