GWU accuses government of ‘politicising’ ST Microelectornics issue
The General Workers Union accused government of ‘politicising’ the STMicroelectronics issue when the Prime Minister, accompanied by his Minister of Finance paid a visit to ST plant to announce the agreement on the investment by the company, a few moments before the workers were to decide on the package of austerity measures ST wanted to introduce.
13 July 2010, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
1 min read
In a statement, the GWU stressed that “it is now clear that government is trying to absolve itself by making statements full of half truths.” The union insisted that it was true to say that the “GWU was being constantly informed” about the talks between government and ST, as the Finance Minister said earlier.
The GWU declared that it was consulted only on two occasions, which came about on the same insistence of the Union. The GWU explained that during the 18 month period of discussions between government and ST, around 1000 jobs were shed. “This justifies the Union’s concern of the length the talks were taking and its insistence for the discussions to be concluded,” the GWU said.
“In no time during these discussions was the GWU negotiating a collective agreement, but simply a package of austerity measures, so much so that the GWU made amply clear to both the Government and the Company that any decisions were to be approved by the workers prior to implementation,” the union said.
The GWU said that it will continue take part in any discussions with government and the company, in the best interest of the workers, the company and of the country.
