GWU applies for lifting of garnishee order

The General Workers Union has described the shipyards' management decision to resort to court action as "abusive and illegal" and yesterday filed an application asking the courts to withdraw the Lm50,000 garnishee order.

But the government has decided to stick to its guns and last night Government Investments Minister Austin Gatt said he would be "irresponsible" to halt the court action now that the damage has been unleashed.

The issue came to a head after the GWU ordered a four-day "go-slow" at the shipyards, in protest at the use of sub-contractors and disagreements over the unplanned night shift arrears.

The protest led to order cancellations and penalties and according to the government could lead to bankruptcy at the shipyards.

Malta Shipyards Ltd management obtained a garnishee order against the GWU for Lm50,000 on Thursday, claiming that the union's actions were in violation of the collective agreement currently in force.

Through its legal representative, the GWU yesterday asked the court to condemn MSL to pay between Lm500 and Lm3,000 for "maliciously abusing" its decision to issue the garnishee order.

GWU general secretary Tony Zarb said his union had no choice but to start legal procedures against MSL after the shipyards' own legal representatives declared on Thursday that they would be withdrawing their garnishee order once the government gives the go-ahead.

The GWU called off its directives at the shipyards as soon as a conciliation meeting at the Director of Industrial Relations was granted on Thursday. Mr Zarb insisted that the union had not withdrawn its actions because of the court proceedings.

Mr Zarb said the reaction of the government and the shipyards' management did not augur well for an early solution to the impasse. "I just hope there are no ulterior motives regarding the future of the shipyards," he said.

In an application filed in court, GWU legal representative Aron Mifsud Bonnici said that unions enjoyed immunity from claims to damages.

The GWU claimed that the management used the garnishee order as a tool to disrupt industrial action and not to protect its rights.

"If the company really wanted to safeguard its position it would not have publicised the industrial action, with the result that it has scared prospective clients away," the union said.

Within hours, the ministry replied that it was useless for the GWU to try and act innocent after it had caused irreparable damage at the shipyards through its "useless actions".

At no point did MSL's legal representatives say they would be willing to withdraw the garnishee order, as evidenced by the minutes of a meeting held. The representatives said that any decision to do so would be taken if there was consensus between the board of directors and the government.

The ministry said there were several reasons why it had chosen to forge ahead with the court action.

The shipyards had suffered quantifiable damage as a result of the GWU actions and none of the work lost could be recouped. "The company can only wait for an accumulation of damages, not all of which are quantifiable."

The ministry added that this was not the first time that the GWU had ordered industrial action without adhering to the collective agreement procedures. "There is still a big possibility that the GWU will reactivate its industrial action, after having suspended it, in order to start discussions on its own terms. This has happened several times in the past.

"The government feels in duty bound and responsible to protect the public's investment in the best possible manner."

It was up to the court to decide who was right on this issue, the ministry said.

Reacting to the GWU's accusation that the government had publicised the industrial action, the ministry reminded the union that the GWU had through its own newspaper last Monday alerted everybody that it had ordered the action. It was only late on Monday that the ministry spoke in the media, several hours after the shipyards were "paralysed".

The issue was reported in Lloyd's List yesterday in the column Labour Disputes.