Updated 7.20pm - Workers at ST Microelectronics this evening held their second two-hour stoppage today to press for a resolution of pay talks.

The industrial actions were ordered by the GWU. Union General Secretary Tony Zarb called on the company not to play for time. He said the union was demanding talks with the overseas management. It was in contact with a senior company official yesterday but he had said he could not be in Malta before mid-September.

Mr Zarb said the union would not wait that long and would call further industrial action if the talks did not resume.

He said the two sides had agreed on much of the issues on a new collective agreement and the stumbling block was pay. The union's proposals, he said, were not unreasonable, given the austerity measures which the workers had endured over the years, while being mindful of the company's current position. 

The union also resorted to similar action in May after the company insisted on keeping austerity measures in place. At the time the union had said the austerity measures were supposed to have been lifted in 2012 

ST is Malta's biggest exporter. It employs 1,600 workers.