GWU wants more active role at shipyards

There is no doubt that certain sectors of the workforce will have to shoulder strenuous, if not uncalled for, burdens as a result of drastic changes that would have to come about when Malta joins the European Union.

One category of workers that will be hit are the dockyard workers. For this reason, the fear and uncertainty they may be feeling now are quite understandable. The least I can do is to empathise with them. But it is not enough. I want to be with them, body and soul, to face the tough time they are destined to go through in the coming months.

I feel duty bound to do so not because I used to be their work-mate but to reciprocate at least part of the solidarity they have always shown towards workers suffering industrial traumas.

In Europe, shipyards are not considered as pet subjects either in the boardrooms or in the corridors of power in Brussels. Shipbuilding and shiprepair have experienced hard times in the wake of the so-called long-term restructuring.

The sector is today associated with layoffs and redundancies rather than with job creation and new opportunities. Indeed, the general feeling is that shipbuilding and shiprepair belong to the past and that there is no future for them.

They are now talking of plans to turn the docks and associated workshops into commercial establishments. They believe that the market today demands fewer shipyards. Otherwise, they do not feel they would be able to retain their present market share, particularly in the light of the aggressive approach adopted by their major competitors in China and Korea.

Financial aid is not available to shiprepair yards and the subsidies given for ship conversion work and shipbuilding are limited and conditional in nature.

As Malta will now be a member of the European Union, Maltese shipyards will face the same situation. They may survive for the next five years but God knows what will happen to them afterwards if the targets set by the EU are not met.

Our 'yards are essential both in terms of the foreign currency they earn for the island's economy and, also, in terms of the pool of skilled workers they have. Yet, all too often they are described as a financial haemorrhage.

All are in agreement that the shipyards have to be restructured, even the workers themselves, for they too would like to have job security. They are not afraid of change, but they do not feel that restructuring should mean downsizing.

Minimising labour costs and overheads may sound as valid economic reasons for taking drastic measures, including layoffs, but the truth is that the aim is to weaken the moral and social strength of the workforce who are represented in their majority by the General Workers' Union. Those who are promoting this strategy do not deserve our cooperation.

More than ever before, the GWU has to play a more active role at the shipyards. Union representatives have to monitor and scrutinise every move taking place at the shipyards.

The workers themselves must realise the difficult times they are passing through. They have to unite in the real sense of the word. They have to take part in the restructuring process, first to ensure that the 'yards attract new clients and, second, to rise to the occasion and carry out their duties in the most cost effective and efficient manner.

The dockyard worker is reformist by nature. In fact, the workers' contribution to start and carry out reforms concerning the workers' rights and benefits is well known. In their case, solidarity is not a political buzz word, it is a daily living experience.

In this context, the dockyard task force should not act as the EU local auditor but as the driving force to attract substantial business. Restructuring reports do not guarantee the livelihood of the workers. Work does.

Mr Micallef is the GWU's deputy secretary general