The president of the Professionals and Services Employees Union yesterday accused the St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation of calling in strike-breakers after employees were called out on a one-hour strike.

Karmenu Vella said the strike was a success, with 10 of the 13 employees on duty having walked out.

A spokesman for the foundation, however, said that, despite the strike, it was "business as usual".

Mr Vella said the foundation had called in employees who were not due to be working yesterday, in an attempt to break the strike.

Although St John's Cathedral and the museum remained open, they were under-manned. Queues at the door were longer than they usually were on Mondays, Mr Vella said.

Industrial action, which could take various forms, would continue until the foundation agreed to talks on all pending issues and not just the collective agreement for part-time custodians, he said.

He added that the union had, so far, not ordered an all-day strike so as not to cause problems for the tourism industry - nearly 4,000 tourists visit St John's and the museum every day.

Various problems needed to be discussed, including working conditions and the level of consultation between the two sides.

Cynthia DeGiorgio, speaking on behalf of the foundation, said on Sunday that a meeting had been due to be held last Wednesday but was cancelled because the shop steward was on leave.

Mr Vella said the meeting was cancelled because the foundation only wanted to discuss the collective agreement for part-timers, although, he acknowledged, the union did request the meeting to be held after August 18.

Ms DeGiorgio said yesterday that the workers who had come in to work were not union members and had accepted to work when requested. She said it was "business as usual" at the Co-Cathedral.

"St John's is the most visited site in Malta, the majority of visitors are tourists, and we have an obligation to serve them," Ms DeGiorgio said.

She added that the foundation had requested the Director of Industrial Relations to call a conciliation meeting with the trade union.

The strike ended at 11.30 a.m.