Tug Malta and MDU go to arbitration

Tug Malta and the Malta Dockers' Union have decided to go to arbitration over a clause in the Collective Agreement regarding tug boats manning levels, Tug Malta said.

The MDU yesterday instructed Tug Malta employees not to sail unless there were at least four people on board, but the company said tugs would continue to operate with a crew of four.

The industrial action was ordered after earlier in the day the management informed workers that those on sick or vacation leave would not be replaced on the shift system.

MDU president Joe Saliba explained that Tug Malta employees worked on a day-night-rest-off shift system and when people were on leave or sick they were replaced by someone who was off or resting and who was paid overtime.

Yesterday morning, he said, the management informed workers that, as from today, this practice would stop and people on leave or sick leave would not be replaced. But Mr Saliba said a tug boat could not operate with fewer than four people on board: one master, one engineer and two seamen.

He said the company's directive was not in line with the collective agreement, which the management had said it would respect until another one was drafted and agreed upon.

The first meeting over the new agreement was scheduled for Tuesday because the present agreement expired yesterday.

The MDU has just taken over representation of Tug Malta workers from the General Workers' Union.

Speaking to The Times in the evening, Tug Malta CEO Ray Miller said the company never said it would not replace workers on leave or on sick leave but simply acted to implement a clause of the collective agreement signed in 2007. This clause states that on January 1, 2010 the manning on each boat would go down to three from the present four.

He said this was the international norm and that Tug Malta boats are licenced to operate with a crew of three. Mr Miller said the company and the union had been in contact and have agreed to disagree and refer the case on interpretation of this clause to arbitration. In the meantime tugs would continue to operate with a crew of four.