19 - 25 October 2000

Employers say GWU protest will harm private sector

by Franco Aloisio

Malta’s business organisations – Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Industry, the Employers Association and the Hotels and Restaurants Association – yesterday expressed their dissatisfaction at the demonstration organised by the General Workers’ Union which is set to take place tomorrow in Valletta.
In a joint statement, the business bodies said the GWU is involving private sector employees in its argument with the government by ordering its members to report for work at 11am on Friday to enable them to take part in the demonstration.
“This measure will give rise to great damage to many firms operating in commerce, in manufacturing, tourism and other service sectors, because it will disrupt the work for more than three hours, at a time when no industrial dispute exists between the GWU and the private sector,” the FOI, Chamber of Commerce and MHRA said.
The employer bodies noted that in its campaign the GWU has until now taken care not to hurt the private sector. In addition, the GWU has for a long time been warning on the bad financial and economic state of the country.
“This is why the union’s decision to disturb the country’s economic activity for a number of hours, in order to hold a demonstration, strikes a discordant note. Can one solve a crisis by creating another crisis?” the employers questioned.
“The Malta Chamber of Commerce, the Malta Employers’ Association, the Malta Federation of Industry and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association remain convinced that the solution to the present problems can only be reached by the parties concerned if they sit around the negotiating table and persist until agreement is reached.”
In reply to this statement, the GWU yesterday said that it was no surprise that the business organisations have joined forces once again against the union. The GWU said these organisations had every opportunity during MCED meetings to urge the government to solve the dispute with the GWU.
The GWU said Friday’s demonstration will not lead to any crisis: “On the contrary, the crisis has been caused by the excessive burdens of the measures introduced in last year’s budget.”
Meanwhile, the Water Services Corporation yesterday filed a judicial protest against the GWU, claiming that there is no industrial dispute between the two sides. The WSC said the GWU’s action is illegal and added that the demonstration will cause harm to its operations.