Furniture maker lays off 14 workers

Fourteen workers were laid off by furniture manufacturer Joinwell, the General Workers' Union said yesterday.

The company was originally planning to lay off 25 workers but a number of them opted for the voluntary redundancy scheme negotiated between the company and the GWU.

However, the union took objection to the lay offs for failing to adopt a "last in first out" principle and said it intended to take the case to the industrial tribunal.

Joinwell employs 135 workers.

The Labour Party's spokesman for industry, John Attard Montalto, blamed the lay offs on the early removal of levies which protected the furniture industry. He said that large companies like Fino were also facing problems.