(Adds GWU statement)

The government will go ahead with its plans to issue early retirement schemes for the workers at Malta Shipyards tomorrow, despite the failure of talks with the GWU, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said this afternoon.

Speaking after a two-hour meeting with the union held at short notice, both Mr Fenech and GWU general secretary Tony Zarb confirmed that no agreement had been reached.

Mr Zarb said the it was clear that the government was not ready to keep its electoral promise not to downsize the dockyard. He said the GWU agreed that there should be early retirement schemes, but it did not agree with the financial terms being offered.

There was also no agreement that the schemes should be launched tomorrow. The union is insisting they should be launched after the new owners of Malta Shipyards are known.

Mr Fenech said that despite talks spread over nearly a month, the union never came up with its own proposals. This, he said, was a shortcoming.

The government, he said, could not wait any longer since it was important that the dockyard had fewer workers so that it could be more attractive to potential investors. The expression of interest for the sale of the dockyard will be issued next Monday and the schemes, therefore, had to be issued immediately.

Mr Fenech said four schemes would be issued. They would be based on the schemes issued in 2003, adjusted for inflation.

He said the government remained ready to hear the GWU's views on the privatisation exercise.

He also stressed that the government could not guarantee, rather than did not want, to guarantee, the jobs of workers who stayed on at Malta Shipyards and did not take up the schemes.

He said that if the schemes, and the privatisation exercise failed, it would be all the workers who would suffer as the dockyard could not continue to receive government subsidies and it would have to be declared bankrupt..

In a statement this evening, the union said that during the meeting it had made serious and practical proposals which it was urging the government to consider. The union said it remained open for further talks.