Negotiations between the General Workers Union and De La Rue will begin next week, with the union “confident of a positive outcome” to discussions, a spokesman told this newspaper yesterday.

De La Rue, the world’s largest supplier of passports, announced extensive redundancies on Tuesday as it moved to phase out the printing of banknotes in Malta. According to the GWU, these redundancies will amount to 300 jobs over two and a half years.

The union spokesman did not say what would constitute a satisfactory outcome to discussions but said there was “no alternative” to a guarantee that workers’ rights would be protected.

Outside the De La Rue factory in Bulebel yesterday afternoon, employees who spoke to the Times of Malta expressed a mix of sadness and frustration at the current situation. One worker said angrily: “How do you think we’re all feeling?”

The government has committed to working towards finding alternative job opportunities for all the employees who will be adversely affected by the restructuring, insisting the economy is in a good enough position to absorb the workers set to lose their jobs. De La Rue will be replacing the currency printing facility with a centre of excellence for identity and security products, with an additional investment of over €21 million.

Meanwhile, the Nationalist Party yesterday accused PBS of a “continued campaign of deception and manipulation” after the national broadcaster led with news of the centre of excellence in its digital reports on Tuesday. Opposition spokesman Clyde Puli said PBS was attempting to hide news of the redundancies, adding that the decision had led to a lot of anger from workers whose jobs were at risk.

“It is unacceptable for PBS to show such insensitivity to the plight of workers losing their livelihood,” Mr Puli said, claiming that the decision had negatively affected the credibility of the broadcaster and its editors.