The “staged” protest by Palumbo shipyard workers on Friday has strengthened the resolve of residents to oppose the company’s operations which they say last through the night.
The Times of Malta has been flooded with calls from residents in the southern harbour area who insisted they could no longer tolerate the shipyard’s work lasting well beyond normal office hours.
They say Palumbo’s deadlines should not be met at a cost to the residents’ wellbeing.
“We have to work too. The noise lasting well into the hours of the morning remains unbearable. The company should not be staging protests and sending its workers out to talk about the need to protect their jobs. We’ve never said workers should lose their jobs. We’re saying the company needs to fall in line,” a Fgura resident said.
The number of complaints filed by the residents has led to the police taking long-awaited action against the company: a court hearing is scheduled for today.
On Friday, Palumbo shipyard workers contested residents’ complaints about pollution and noise by standing in front of the company’s premises, saying they would not tolerate yet another threat to their jobs. “These complaints put our work at risk. We’ve been here before, when people complained they were paying for our employment before the shipyard was privatised. Now we pay taxes on our income…Now we’re contributing to the economy thanks to Mr [Antonio] Palumbo,” one of the workers said.
Workers said their livelihood depended on the shipyard so residents should stop complaining. “If they continue, we will have trouble,” another employee said. Their stand followed articles in this newspaper based on residents’ complaints about dirt and noise, which were sparked off by an asthmatic Cospicua resident, Joe Busuttil, who did not fear taking a stand against the company. He said residents were complaining their health was suffering and the noise at night was unbearable but they were afraid to speak out.
Most of the residents who have called the Times of Malta since spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals. Yet, Mr Busuttil’s efforts made them come forward, they said.
The shipyard’s workers have a vivid past and are renowned for their strong vocal and militant stand in the years before the yard was privatised. In 2004, a restructuring programme was initiated that included a write-off of close to €700 million which caused the country’s deficit that year to spike to nearly 10 per cent of GDP.
The shipyard was then privatised in 2010 but Palumbo is still working without an environmental permit. The company said it had applied for one in its first year of operations.
When asked whether the necessary studies had been conducted six years down the line, CEO Joseph Calleja had said “we are just waiting for the outcome of some final ones to hand over to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority”.