The GWU has protested to the Commission for the Investigation of Corruption that a year after it requested an investigation into the granting of the two Fairmount ship conversion contracts by Malta Shipyards, it had still not been invited to give evidence.

The union this afternoon published a letter by its General Secretary, Tony Zarb, to commission chairman Albert Manche' where Mr Zarb said he was sure that the evidence by the union's officials would be useful in the commission's investigation.

The union also published a sworn declaration sent to the commission last November by Sammy Meilaq, the former chairman of Malta Drydocks.

In his statement, Mr Meilaq said that against all practice and logic, Malta Shipyards had sidelined its professional management in the drawing up of the quotation for the conversion work and instead engaged an individual, Mr Couser, who produced a quotation which was drastically lower than  what the management had been preparing. That had been seriously detrimental to the shipyard.

After some time, the dockyard inexplicably freed Mr Couser of all contractual links and obligations with it, making it easier for him to 'escape from Malta'.

The dockyard had also accepted penalties on liquidated damages, thus going against all normal practice for contracts of this type.

Mr Meilaq said the dockyard had awarded sub-contracts worth several million euros without a call for tenders or quotations, without documentation and evaluation. The sub-contracts were awarded at a much higher price than the dockyard was to receive as payment from the client, when it could have done otherwise.

Mr Meilaq said the dockyard had not taken legal advice on the terms of the contract, as used to be done for major contracts in the past.

It had also ordered management to 'alter' documentation on costs so that the expenditure was shown to have been made on other works.

The dockyard also knowingly gave false information to the GWU on the main contract terms including the price, sub-contracting costs and purchase of equipment.

In the accounts, the dockyard recorded a cost of €1,245,000 in training, when this was not the case.

It also transferred funds to a contractor who, it knew, was about to go bankrupt and when it knew it was not obliged to transfer this money. Instead the shipyard could have taken action to protect its interests.

Mr Meilaq said these facts showed that this contract was drawn up and executed in a way which harmed the dockyard and this could not have been accidental. Rather this was done in a considered manner, and constituted corruption.

The commission, he said, should investigate who had been responsible for these things, and who had allowed them since this all involved corruption.

The GWU said in the past that the Fairmount contracts had cost the dockyard losses of some €30 million.