MEA condemns Freeport sympathy strike for Portuguese workers

The Malta Employers' Association has strongly condemned a sympathy action ordered by the Malta Dockers' Union at the Freeport and Valletta Gateway Terminal.

"It is unacceptable that an industrial action is taken where no dispute exists between the employees and their employer. In this case, the issue is made worse by the fact that the sympathy action was ordered in response to a dispute that is not even instigated in Malta, but by Portuguese workers," MEA director Joseph Farrugia said.

The Association warned that the concept of transnational sympathy strikes threatens to destabilise industrial relations stability even in places where there are relatively harmonious relations between employers and workers.

"Such a situation sets a dangerous and absurd precedent which could have serious consequences on industrial relations, as a company's industrial peace could be jeopardised by unrest anywhere in the world. We appeal to unions to act responsibly and to avoid being drawn into disputes which do not concern their members, nor their employers," Farrugia said.