Updated | Freeport says GWU should focus on compromise, not industrial action

Malta Freeport Terminals Limited has reiterated its invitation to the General Workers Union to rejoin the discussion on recognition, asking the union to reconsider its position and halt its “premature” industrial action, after the Union announced that it had begun industrial action at the Freeport, earlier today.

In a statement released this afternoon, the company advised the union to focus on its efforts to reach a compromise with the UHM regarding the  verification procedure and to expedite the verification process “in the interest of all involved, but especially the workers it represents.”

 “The operation of a company should never be disrupted for frivolous reasons which are not connected to an industrial dispute,” said the company. It did not rule out taking legal action against the union to recover damages caused – an amount which could reach hundreds of thousands of euros, as the company is currently operating at full capacity.

The company insisted that the priority should always be that the employees are represented by the union enjoying the trust of the majority and that this should be established through a “transparent, objective and just verification procedure.”

The company was doing its best to verify which union represents the majority of Freeport workers, it said, pointing out that upon receiving the request for verification from the GWU, it had immediately begun the necessary procedures and had met with the union in February to discuss the matter. “It was the GWU who declared that it would not accept that verification be supervised by the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations and so this company, in good faith, attempted to resolve the issue by offering to invite a mutually trusted independent third party to manage the process,” said MFT, adding that a meeting had been fixed for next Monday with a view to beginning the process as soon as possible.

“Therefore the industrial actions are both premature and excessive, and indeed unnecessary in the circumstances,” said the company.

Earlier today, the General Workers Union announced that it had begun industrial action against the Malta Freeport, claiming the latter was delaying its recognition of the union as a representative of the majority of its workers and excluding it from discussions.

As of midnight last night, said GWU's Secretary General Tony Zarb, union members have been instructed to work to rule and go slow. The industrial action is the union’s response to what it described as an attempt by Freeport management to pander to the UHM by delaying an exercise intended to establish which union represents the majority of Freeport workers. Zarb claimed that over 500 port workers are GWU members.

“The GWU represents the absolute majority of Freeport workers,” announced a bullish Toni Zarb, addressing a press conference, accompanied by the heads of all branches of the union outside the Freeport Centre in Birzebbugia this morning.

He had warned that if Malta Freeport continues to deny its workers their constitutional rights, the union will escalate its action. “If they remain stubborn, they will be in a fight with the entire GWU,” said Zarb.

The Malta Employers’ Association had also strongly objected to the industrial action, describing this as yet another incident where employers are caught in the cross-fire in turf wars between unions – in this case between the GWU and UHM - and companies have to suffer the consequences, even when no dispute exists between the employer and a union.

"In this case the dispute comes at a very bad time as the Freeport has recently announced increased business with two major shipping lines – Ocean Three and the 2M Alliance – and these actions are disrupting operations at the terminal during the initial and critical phase of the relationship between these companies and Malta Freeport" said the association.

The MEA has, for some time, been calling for changes in legislation to make for a transparent and fast resolution to recognition disputes and reiterated that the escalating rivalry between unions is threatening the country’s economic stability.  The Association appealed for common sense to prevail between unions and called on government to ensure that the necessary regulatory and legal infrastructure is put in place to safeguard employers and the economy from actions which could bring the country to a standstill.