Gonzi meets GWU, UHM representatives

Representatives of the General Workers' Union and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin called on Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at the Auberge de Castille yesterday afternoon.

The GWU delegation, headed by general secretary Tony Zarb, reiterated its stand that the government must seek dialogue with the social partners in order to create more jobs.

"We deplore the way in which the government has dealt with the reform of certain enterprises recently, especially those where it is a majority shareholder. We would have preferred to be consulted before the government came up with its ready-made proposals," said Mr Zarb.

The GWU leader said the union preferred dialogue, which, he said, had less of a negative impact on the labour market.

At the end of the meeting, Mr Zarb said the stakeholders should now translate words into concrete action.

During a separate meeting, UHM general secretary Gejtu Vella told Dr Gonzi that the union would work towards social dialogue.

"On Monday, we had a round table meeting with delegations of the political parties and the Church. These gave us positive reactions to the social pact document we devised and this was very encouraging for us," Mr Vella said.

The UHM general secretary announced that the union would be holding a national conference on the social pact, focusing on how suggestions could be put into practice.

This was the first time the two main unions met the Prime Minister since he took office last month.