Updated 4.15 p.m.
The Prime Minister said this afternoon that the comments made by GWU General secretary Tony Zarb as revealed in an audio recording by the PN were 'shocking'.
Speaking in Brussels, where he is attending an EU summit, Dr Gonzi renewed the PN's call for Mr Zarb to resign, saying his position was 'untenable'.
“I have heard the recordings in the media and I am shocked. The GWU, instead of defending workers, is now trying to negotiate favours with businessmen once Labour is in government. This is not acceptable and Mr Zarb should resign,” Dr Gonzi said.
The Prime Minister also described the reaction of Labour Leader Joseph Muscat to the latest revelations as “mild” and said that instead of condemning Mr Zarb, Dr Muscat seems to be defending his actions.
Earlier, the General Workers’ Union accused the Nationalist Party of manipulating its battle against precarious work.
It was the union's second statement to rebut the PN revelation of audio where Mr Zarb is heard apparently promising to give 'a push' to a company in tender procedures if it is friendly with the union.
The union had earlier claimed that the recordings were deceitful and constituted selective editing of extracts from a much longer conversation between Mr Zarb and a private contractor.
In its second statement, the GWU explained that it had received reports of unfair treatment at their workplace from employees of a prominent cleaning contractor. When investigating these claims, it transpired that the contractor was submitting offers for cleaning services to the government with prices that clearly indicate that his workers would be paid at rates inferior to the minimum allowed by law. It was also evident that the employees would see an erosion of their working conditions. Additionally, there were reports of practices intended to prevent employees from joining a trade union.
GWU General Secretary Tony Zarb."The GWU tried to negotiate for better working conditions for employees of the contractor but it was evident that the good will to improve the employee’s working conditions was lacking on the part of the contractor. It was in this stated context that the GWU newspapers reported that the contractor’s employees were being exploited," the union said.
"Around mid-2012, the contractor made contact with the GWU and days later a meeting took place, selective extracts of which were broadcast by the Nationalist Party media.
"At this meeting, the GWU sought to address the matter of precarious working conditions at the contractor’s workplace. The parties discussed several issues, including:
a) That employees should be allowed the freedom to join a trade union.
b) That the contractor and the union should seek to normalise their relationship rather than work against each other.
c) That, whereas the Nationalist government was awarding public tenders to contractors for values that do not allow bidders to provide just payment and working conditions, the GWU would do its best to see that contractors who promote precarious work practices would be excluded from public contracts."
"In this context," the GWU said, "reference is made to the proposal which the GWU publicly made to the political parties in July 2012. It had stated that 'where there is clear and concrete evidence that employers are employing or have employed workers with precarious conditions, such employers should be disqualified from government contracts or contracts from entities where government has an interest. Additionally, it should be obligatory that tenders issued by government or government entities include a copy of the workers’ conditions of employment or a copy of the collective agreement currently in force.'"
The union said the Labour Party had, long before, taken a position against precarious work in public tenders and it was for this reason that in the recorded conversation it was stated that “if things change” it would be difficult for the contractor to operate without respect for employee rights. The “mediator” in the conversation in fact continued to state that “Labour would definitely not allow you to operate.”
"The message transmitted to the contractor at the meeting was that the union would continue to oppose tenderers who do not respect their workers, whilst it would give support to contractors who honour just conditions of employment. It would continue to do so publicly, even through the use of its newspapers, by pressing the government to “take action” on this matter."
The union said that under Nationalist governments it supported bidders for public tenders who honour workers’ conditions of employment, more so when jobs were at stake. It did this by providing good references where appropriate, in full respect of the law, and it had no hesitation in continuing to do so, irrespective of which party was in government.
PN REACTION
In a reaction, the Nationalist Party reiterated that the GWU was being irresponsible and Mr Zarb should have resigned.
Through its declarations, the union was admitting that if anybody did not do what the union wished, he would be attacked by its newspapers, but if somebody did what the union wanted, the attacks would stop, the PN said.
Furthermore, should whoever was concerned do what the union wanted, the union would ‘give him a push’ for government contracts.
The reference to tenders was especially serious because it came soon after the declarations by former Pl deputy leader Anglu farrugia about the involvement of major contractors and the funding of the PL, the PN said.