The Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin is so far refusing to bow down to pressure to call off industrial action at Gozo Channel, which could disrupt the ferry service over the busy carnival weekend.
It said the decision was a last resort and “not taken capriciously”. “We didn’t call for industrial action each time there was a problem, but now it has gone too far,” union president Jesmond Bonello said yesterday.
The union has ordered Gozo Channel employees to go slow from today over pending arrears in salary dating back to 2008.
But a specific directive not to replenish the ship’s fresh water supply – needed for the plumbing and machinery – could keep the ferries in port just as thousands were planning to cross the channel in one direction or the other to celebrate carnival.
The decision drew harsh criticism from Gozitans on social networks such as Facebook as they face the possibility of being stranded either in Malta or in Gozo over the weekend.
Carnival is also one of the most important periods for Gozitan businesses as Maltese flock to the sister island to join the revelry that some villages have become well-known for.
However, Mr Bonello defended the union’s decision, saying they had tried to sort out the pending issues a week before the feast of St Paul, which fell on a Friday creating a long weekend.
“However, nothing changed,” he said.
The union is also refusing to attend a conciliation meeting, scheduled for today with the Director of Industrial Relations, saying this was just a way of drawing out the process.
Gozo Channel requested the meeting earlier this week after the union informed the management of the industrial action.
Mr Bonello said they wanted concrete proposals and not discussions. “If they call me to meet tonight to resolve the issue I’m ready to do so. But they called the conciliation meeting for the day of the industrial action.”
A spokesman for the Finance Ministry, responsible for the company, said the offer for the meeting was still on.
The issue revolves around a number of proposals made by the company on the employees’ financial package, which the union finds unacceptable. It claims the company is refusing to pay the employees their arrears, which had been promised to them when discussions over a new collective agreement were put on hold at the company’s request.
Meanwhile, the Gozo Businsess Chamber urged both sides to resolve the matter without further delay, saying it was dismayed that the union was resorting to “such drastic and ill-timed action”.
Without going into the merits of the issues involved, the chamber pointed out that it would greatly damage the Gozitan economy “at such a delicate time”.