FOI objection to GWU sympathy strikes

Before the GWU and Government reached an amicable agreement to the dispute on suspended Enemalta employees on Tuesday, the GWU had served notice of sympathy strikes to private employers in support of the industrial dispute it then had with Enemalta.

The FOI objected to the GWU's attitude and reminded it that should Union actions cause disruption to industrial activity, these will have economic and social repercussions.

The Malta Federation of Industry acknowledged the fact that Employment and Industrial Relations legislation gives unions the right to order sympathy strikes. However, trade unions are expected to use this right with great responsibility and only after exhausting the other possibilities that exist at law to solve disputes amicably.

The Federation urged Government and the GWU to settle their dispute in a reasonable way through the mechanisms contemplated at law and avoid hurting unnecessarily not only the many thousands of workers in the private sector but also the economy of the country at large.

The FOI is satisfied that the matter has since been resolved without any consequences to parties that were not involved in the dispute.