A group of former port workers will protest outside the Prime Minister’s office next week to call for an end to “the clear injustice” of being denied their share of a pension fund to which they had contributed.

General Workers’ Union general secretary Tony Zarb said the former workers, who number about 600, and their families were fed up waiting for what was “theirs by right”.

Addressing a press conference announcing the November 22 protest, Mr Zarb said they were appealing to be granted their share of the Pension and Contingency Fund, to which they had contributed in the past and that at one time had amounted to €47 million.

They expected the Government to treat them in the same manner as the shareholders of the National Bank, with whom the Government was trying to reach an out-of-court settlement.

The union, Mr Zarb explained, had met Finance Minister Tonio Fenech on the issue, had written several times to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and had also given him a petition signed by the group of former workers.

The fund used to be administered by port workers, shipping agents and the Government. It was set up by law in 1974 and at one point the kitty contained some €47 million.

Until 2006, Mr Zarb said, the fund had been worth between €40 and €46 million.

However, it was not clear what had happened to it and the union did not know how much was left of it as funds had been used for the latest port reform in 2007.

Mr Zarb said in the past, after every reform, port workers – including those who were retired and the heirs of those who had passed away – received a lump sum payment from the fund.

This time, former port workers did not benefit despite having contributed to the fund for years.

There are two pending court cases on the issue.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.