10 - 16 February 2000

Unions order strikes at BOV

by Ivan Brincat

The Malta Union of Bank Employees (MUBE) and the General Workers' Union (GWU) have ordered strike action at the Bank of Valletta as from tomorrow after they failed to reach an agreement on the new collective agreement that had expired on 31 December 1998.

Both the GWU and the MUBE have criticised BOV's management for insisting on giving employees a lump sum of money instead of an increase in wages.

The two unions have ordered their members to report for work an hour late and not to answer telephones, faxes or e-mails until noon. The directive was issued following discussions between the two unions.

In a news conference held yesterday afternoon, MUBE President William Portelli said the only remaining stumbling block was BOV's position with regards to the lump sum payment. While there may have been previous collective agreements with other banks which included a lump sum, this was not the policy of the MUBE, Mr Portelli said.

The chairman of the BOV group committee, Livy Tabone Valletta, said the one-third lump sum proposal was unacceptable. "There is a hidden agenda coming from somewhere. But we cannot accept the lump sum because at the end of the day, this is not reflected as a wage increase," he said.

A meeting was held yesterday afternoon between the Director of Labour and the MUBE, which the latter's officials described as cordial. However, the directive for industrial action on Friday still stands, they said.

The Bank was saying it was bound by previous agreements made by other unions at other banks, the MUBE President said, adding that there was also a pending agreement at the Central Bank concerning the lump sum.

On the other hand, the GWU said it had registered an industrial dispute with BOV on 7 January, since the management insisted that parts of the wage increase should be in the form of a lump sum which will not be added to employees' salaries.

Karmenu Vella, secretary of the professional services section of the GWU, said BOV's position was an insult to its employees. "The collective agreement expired in 1998 and we have been discussing the new collective agreement with the management for the past one and a half years" he said.

This was a shameful situation, he said. "BOV should prove that it respects workers by facts," Mr Vella said, adding that the GWU would increase its industrial action in the coming days.