26 July - 1 August 2001

Malta Shipbuilding

The problems facing the Malta Shipbuilding Company Ltd go well beyond the financial aspects of running such an enterprise. When you have a workforce that, for reasons best known to them, refuses to work at another site, in this case the Malta Drydocks, one gets the impression that a state of anarchy exists.
It is ironic however, that these same workers, when faced with little else to do, are the first to protest that the government is not doing anything to provide them with work. But no. They have been offered work but they refuse to do it, giving safety issues as their line of reasoning.
The 16 shipyard welders who refused to do work on a Scandinavian-owned ship at the Dockyard have now been joined by the rest of their colleagues in doing nothing. Instead of being grateful that they were given a chance to do some work, they felt the need to say no. In all probability they were hoping that the shipyard’s management would turn a blind eye and the workers could go back to doing precious little while their salary continued to be paid. Whatever their plans may have been, they are now faced with a suspension from work without pay... for three weeks at least until the work on the ship is finished by Polish workers brought in to do the job.
The General Workers’ Union, which represents the workers, did well not to give in, stating clearly that it had not issued any directive to stop work. Now they are faced with a situation that they will not easily get out of. On the one hand, the management has put its foot down and will not tolerate any similar action and secondly, the GWU does not want to be involved because it had agreed a number of years back that if necessary, shipbuilding workers would carry out work at the drydocks. Now they have suddenly discovered that without any support or room to negotiate, they stand to lose out. No one fancies not being paid.
The government now has the chance to put things in order at the Malta Shipbuilding. For too long has the government been forced to back down. Those workers who refuse to do work – in a safe environment – will not be tolerated. No work, no pay. The GWU must also support the government on this issue and support – within the parameters of the collective agreement – any disciplinary action taken against the workers. It is high time that certain elements within the workforce realise that the good times are over.

Disappointing year

The General Retailers and Traders Association’s survey among exhibitors at the trade fair gives a clear picture that not all is well in the retail sector. Fifty per cent said that business was worse than last year while 27.7 per cent said trade during the fair remained the same. Another 27.7 per cent said business had improved on last year. Three days earlier, the GRTU carried out another survey which gave a totally different result, with 48 per cent saying that business had improved. Now, either business was so bad over the last three days that nearly 20 per cent sold nothing or else exhibitors based their opinion on projections rather than actual figures.
There is no doubt, however, that business has gone down considerably over the past two or three years. One of the main factors that affected trade at the fair was that, according to the exhibitors, visitors did not have money to spend (60.9 per cent). 21.7 said that business was affected by the general (negative) economic climate in the country.
Even those who had the money to spend, only did so because they managed to get very good discounts. 28.5 per cent of exhibitors said that price-cutting was one factor that affected trade during the fair, with some cutting prices by up to 35 per cent just to make a sale or to reach target.
What the results of the survey do not show, however, is that those who said they had done well could have been referring to volume of sales or turnover. What the GRTU should have asked is whether they had made a profit or not, whether they had taken up less exhibition space or they had cut down on ancillary expenses.
The trade fair is usually a good gauge of the economic situation and judging by this year’s performance, it does not look good.