Caravaggio masterpieces 'unguarded' during choir rehearsals

Full-time custodians responsible for security at St John's Co-Cathedral, in Valletta, have, for the past three months, been absent during rehearsals by a 40-strong choir on Sunday mornings just metres away from priceless Caravaggio works.

This emerged yesterday when the General Workers' Union asked Frank Pullicino, Director of Industrial Relations and Labour, to investigate measures being taken by the St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation with regard to custodians.

The union's section secretary for services and the media, Karmenu Vella, is insisting that many of the measures that were taken or were being proposed by the foundation regarding full-time and part-time custodians breached the law and the collective agreement for full-time custodians.

The foundation had been set up in 2001 to look after the St John's Co-Cathedral complex. The members of the foundation are appointed by the Office of the Prime Minister and the Archbishop, on behalf of the Metropolitan Chapter.

The responsibility for the employment of custodians was transferred from the Metropolitan Chapter to the foundation.

The union explained that in June 2002, the foundation had employed a number of part-time custodians, most of whom were pensioners. As these were working over 20 hours a week, representations were made to ensure they benefit from conditions of work applicable to part-timers but, Mr Vella said, the foundation ignored the requests and instead issued a call for more part-time custodians.

Mr Vella said he suspected the foundation wanted to employ more part-timers so that these would work under 20 hours a week in order to save on the benefits contemplated at law.

"If this is the aim of the foundation it is indeed a shameful exploitation of workers. The union will never accept that workers will be used or cast aside as the employer wishes, more so when the employer is a foundation set up by the government and Church," Mr Vella added.

The union said there was disagreement with the foundation on the issue of the presence of full-time custodians on Sunday mornings. These, it said, have not been paid for overtime since November.

Full-time custodians are responsible for security at the oratory and the union said it cannot understand how a choir consisting of about 40 people can be allowed to hold rehearsals in the most sensitive place of the co-Cathedral without the presence of the people in charge of security.

Mr Vella said he had drawn the attention of the executive secretary, Claude Busuttil, about the issue of choir rehearsals and security last May. In July, the Archbishop's attention was also drawn about the matter but, Mr Vella said, the Archbishop passed on the complaint to the foundation and replied that it was the foundation that was responsible.