Union action may halt Gozo ferry for Carnival

People looking forward to attending the Nadur carnival over the weekend might miss out on the fun as industrial action ordered by the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin could disrupt the Gozo ferry service.

Apart from going slow, workers taking industrial action will not replenish the ships with fresh water, which means that the ferries would not be able to operate.The action, which will come into force tomorrow, was ordered after the ferry company put forward a number of "unacceptable proposals" on the employees' financial package in the collective agreement, union transport section secretary Martin Caruana said.

Discussions for the collective agreement, which expired in 2008, were put on hold at the company's request until it won the tender for the government's public service obligation ( PSO), which it did last year, he explained.

"We agreed to wait and were promised that the employees were going to receive the arrears due to them for the past two and a half years. However, the company did not keep its word and these arrears were not mentioned in last set of proposals," Mr Caruana said.

These proposals did "not do justice with t he productivity and results" often announced in the media.

Most of the directives issued to the various staff are mainly to "go slow" . However, t he f erry service may not be able to operate because the boat's engineers and sailors were ordered not to replenish the ship's fresh water supply. The water is used in the ship's plumbing system and in the machinery.

Failure to replenish it would mean t hat t he engines could not operate and t hat t he f erry could not run, Mr Caruana said.

When it was pointed out t o him t hat many people were planning to go to Nadur's carnival this weekend, he said it was "unfortunate" but t hat t he union was left with no option.

Discussions had been underway but the company was dragging its feet , Mr Caruana charged. "It's not something we like doing but it has to be done. The employees made a lot of sacrifices to help the company win the PSO."

The union wanted "proposals and not discussions" and added that these directives would remain active until the ferry company reviewed its position.

A spokesman for the Finance Ministry, which is responsible for Gozo Channel, said the government was committed to reaching a solution.

"The government has requested the Director of Industrial Relations to call a conciliation meeting but the union refused to attend. However, the government is still hoping that a solution can be reached," the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Gozo Tourism Association called upon both parties to settle the dispute.

Without entering into the merits of the dispute, the association acknowledged the right to industrial action but pointed out that it was "ill- timed as it risks literally making a shambles of the busiest weekend of the year" for domestic tourism.

While the action was intended to support workers, it was "jeopardizing the jobs of other Gozitan workers". The association called for common sense to prevail.

List of union directives to Gozo Channel employees

• Ticket sellers and front desk staff are to "go slow" and not answer telephones.

• Terminal duty officers are to "go slow", not answer telephones and communicate only with the captain via VHS radio and with no other official.

• Mooring men and terminal assistants are to "go slow". They can only moor and must not use the tow motor or offer the baggage service onto the ferry.

• Cleaners must carry the full garbage bags to the end of the ship's ramp and must not dump these in the skips situated at the terminal.

• Staff who work at the cafeteria have to "go slow" and must not restock the shelves or refill the fridges.

• Seamen and engineers have to go slow and must not replenish the fresh water supply of the ferry.