Job losses and the GWU

I refer to John O'Dea's observation (January 22). It is very strange today that persons with blurred ideas and misconceptions, the likes of Mr O'Dea, are still around to jump to the occasion to put all the blame on the GWU for all that goes wrong in this tiny Mediterranean island.

With his comments, Mr O'Dea has perhaps, without even knowing, fallen into the trap of partisan politics. Otherwise he could not have repeated all the tripe that certain political quarters every now and then throw at the GWU.

Holy Heavens! Does Mr O'Dea really believe we have to move the clock backwards and sacrifice the workers' standard of living on the pretext of our country remaining competitive? Does he really believe that the unpleasant state of affairs, especially in the manufacturing sector, is the product of collective bargaining? If Mr O'Dea believes so, then poor is Malta!

What made our country uncompetitive are not the wage increases and better working conditions, as Mr O'Dea tried to suggest. Our country's uncompetitiveness is the result of many factors. Sheer bureaucracy, lack of training and retraining of workers, hesitant investment in new technology and government-induced costs are just a few.

May I lastly correct Mr O'Dea's assertion that the GWU is blaming the government for the job losses which have become rampant these days. What Mr O'Dea said is totally incorrect. The GWU is blaming the government for some of its policies which have worsened the employment situation. But surely the government is at full fault for taking no practical measures to attract new investment that might create new employment.

On the contrary, the GWU is very proactive. It was and still is prepared to offer its full cooperation and assistance to any foreign investor who tends to set up shop in Malta. And this is for the benefit of both the workers and the country.

This is evidence enough that Malta needs the General Workers' Union.