GWU says it cannot accept 'consultation in reverse'

The GWU has insisted that it will not accept ‘consultation in reverse' over the power tariffs.

Reacting to a statement issued yesterday by the Finance Ministry, which criticized it for calling a demonstration on the utility tariffs after having boycotted an MCESD meeting held last month, the union said it was not a puppet.

The MCESD meeting had been called after the tariffs came into force, and the social partners had had to accept them. What the Finance Ministry had not said, the GWU said, was how the MCESD was not informed or consulted before the tariffs were announced. And the various calls for an urgent MCESD meeting after the tariffs were announced, but before they came into force, were ignored.

The union said it was not the holding of a protest which harmed industrial competitiveness, but the government's decision to impose tariffs which amounted to a huge burden on industry, as well as families.

Nylon Knitting, for example, had seen its bills rise by about €2 million, General Soft Drinks by €400,000, Farsons by 75%, Toly by 50% and Joinwell by 40%.

It was because of these burdens that the people were backing the call for the protest, the union said.

See also

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100213/local/gwu-calling-demo-after-boycotting-mcesd-meeting-on-tariffs-ministry