Updated at 8.30pm with company's reaction
Gozo Channel has been hit with industrial action, as the UĦM ordered officials to refuse to work extra ferry trips, among others.
The UĦM Voice of the Workers’ transport section ordered industrial action yesterday after no agreement was reached on the financial remuneration for officials, including vessel captains, engineers, and electricians.
Negotiations on a collective agreement for these officials, who manage the vessels, have been going on for a year.
The officials are therefore being asked by the union to stick to scheduled trips as listed in the official timetable, and to refuse to perform any extra ones.
Meanwhile, fuel will only be transported to Gozo on Thursdays, while the fuel supply to the vessels themselves will only be affected during the daylight.
When contacted, UĦM’s employment relations manager Kenneth Abela told this newspaper that these officials were responsible for the transportation of hazardous goods and some 900 passengers every trip.
However, their salary did not reflect the responsibility they had to shoulder, he added.
The directives will remain in place until an agreement is reached. The union is not excluding the possibility of increasing its industrial action.
UĦM’s industrial action comes just a few days before the MV Malita goes out of service because of repairs at Palumbo, which will be carried out between Monday and Thursday.
The operator said that on these days, it would be operating the morning trips from 5am to 7.30am from Mġarr and from 5.30am to 7.30am from Ċirkewwa on a shuttle service. Other trips will be performed according to schedule.
Gozo Channel's reaction
In a statement, Gozo Channel said the deadlock was the result of extraordinary requests for increases in pay for seaborne officers.The amounts requested were over inflated to the current salaries for the grades of
The amounts requested were over-inflated when compared to the current salaries for the grades of master, chief engineer, chief officer, second engineer, leading electrical officer afloat and electrical officer ashore.
The company said that following a request by the UĦM, a conciliation meeting was held by the Employment and Industrial Relations director and the company submitted a new financial package within two days.
But within minutes, the union informed it of the directives.
Although there was a second conciliation meeting attempt by the director, this was instantly refused by the union.
It said it was committed to attempt reopening discussions to revert to a situation of industrial peace.