Maltapost refers dispute to Director of Labour

Maltapost said yesterday that it considered the industrial action ordered by the General Workers' Union at its branches last Friday as unofficial and in contravention of the company's collective agreement.

Maltapost said complaints raised by the GWU on behalf of some of the members were of a collective nature and had a direct effect on company operations. These complaints were already being discussed between the company and the UHM, which is the officially recognised union according to the collective agreement, Maltapost said.

The company said that in the circumstances, it has referred the issue to the Director of Labour, and a meeting has been called for today.

Last Friday Maltapost counter workers were ordered by the GWU not to deliver letters and registered mail, not to deliver packages, not to open or close baggage containing registered mail, not to sort mail in boxes, not to process the public's complaints that should be managed by the customer care section and not to answer the phone.

The GWU said the Maltapost management had agreed to reduce the excessive workload on counter administrators that had been created when operational hubs were introduced, but this never materialised.

Maltapost yesterday said it would like to apologise to the public for any inconvenience caused by the industrial action.