Shipyards turnover 'to fall by Lm2.3m'

Malta Shipyards Limited, hit by industrial action, is expecting a number of cancellations by ship owners who were planning to commission their vessels for repairs in Malta soon.

The management is estimating that the shipyards' turnover will fall by at least Lm2.3 million from projected levels over the next six months as a result of the unrest.

The company said in a statement yesterday that because of the unrest prevailing at the 'yards, owners whose ships were contracted to call at the shipyards in the coming weeks had put the shipyards management "on notice" and said they were seeking other shipyards.

Malta Shipyards also warned that unless the unrest stopped at once, the 'yards risked not having enough income to meet its commitments "beyond a few more weeks".

It was not far from not having enough money to pay workers' wages.

It said the board of directors would be legally obliged to stop the company's operations if and when it went bankrupt.

Unrest at the shipyards started last week when workers cut off the electricity supply being used by workers who had been subcontracted by a ship owner who wanted work done quicker.

On Monday, the General Workers' Union's metal and construction section issued a work-to-rule directive and urged Malta Shipyards employees not to cooperate or work with individuals who were subcontracted by vessel owners or by the management.

The GWU demanded that the management pay unplanned night shift arrears to workers by February 11.

The union directive affected a container ship belonging to an owner who was negotiating with Malta Shipyards on the possibility of contracting another three vessels.

The management said yesterday all owners of vessels present in the 'yards had sent official protests to the management, holding the company responsible for any damages they might suffer as a result of delays.

"The 'yards face a loss of at least Lm50,000 for breaching contracts plus anything between Lm1 million and Lm2 million for proven damages," the company said.

Malta Shipyards said it was presently handling nine different projects with a contract value of Lm2.7 million and this was likely to grow by a further Lm500,000.

"Up to the end of March we have other confirmed contracts valued at Lm700,000. This is one of the busiest periods the 'yard has had for a long time," the statement said.

The government also said it was pulling the plug on marketing as the shipyards could no longer guarantee that work would be completed on time.

The management said the use of subcontracted workers "when the need arises" was necessary as it was no longer feasible to keep a large number of permanent workers to cater for "peaks in demand of labour".

Noting that subcontracting workers was a management prerogative stipulated in the collective agreement, the company said important contracts had been won recently because the management had accepted demands made by owners to speed up work by subcontracting workers.

The company said that during the past eight months, the management had clarified certain "unclear" clauses, agreeing on almost all points.

"The outstanding dispute relates to the payment of an allowance to workers for practising flexibility within their grades," the management said, declaring it was prepared to pay an allowance to workers who learn and are prepared to practise a new trade but not to workers who "practise flexibility within their own trade as demanded by the GWU".

The GWU yesterday wrote to Frank Pullicino, Employment and Industrial Relations Director, asking for an urgent conciliation meeting with the shipyards' management.

Contacted, GWU deputy general secretary Emmanuel Micallef said the union directives were still in place.

He said the number of shipyards workers had been reduced due to the restructuring process in 2003 and certain skills were "lost" as a result. "In this respect, the union understands that if employees lack certain skills these may be carried out by subcontracted workers. However the union can never accept that employees are idle because work is being done by subcontractors," Mr Micallef said.