GWU berates Marlene Farrugia over Enemalta workers’ claim

The General Workers’ Union has hit out at Independent MP Marlene Farrugia for suggesting that it had failed to safeguard the rights of Enemalta workers who were transferred to undignified jobs.

During a parliamentary debate on Monday, Farrugia accused Labour of lying to Enemalta employees when it had pledged that they would not lose their jobs.

She referred to a Times of Malta report that claimed that around 40 mostly skilled engineers have in the past year been transferred from Enemalta to the Office of the President, where they are doing maintenance work and gardening.

“What a betrayal of the workers. Where is the General Workers’ Union? What has happened to these workers’ representatives today?” she asked. “Employees today are scared of speaking out, because that’s what the Labour Party has done to the working class today.”

The GWU in a statement condemned Farrugia’s “attack” as proof that she is getting her information solely off third parties and media reports.

“If Farrugia truly had workers’ interests at heart, she could have asked the union how it had handled the Enemalta restructuring process,” it said. “During these negotiations, the GWU took steps to ensure that employees don’t lose their jobs or suffer salary reductions. This means that although the nature of the work of some of Enemalta’s employees has changed, their financial conditions has remained identical.”