Gozo Channel employees started following industrial action on Wednesday after their union decided the company had been dragging its feet on a new collective agreement for too long.

The UĦM Voice of the Workers said in a statement Gozo Channel had been working on a new collective agreement for its employees for more than two years. The current agreement expired two-and-a-half years ago.

To press the company into action, the union ordered unionised and non-unionised workers, including those who work for a contractor, to follow a series of actions.

What does the action mean for passengers?

These include not answering radio, VHF and telephone calls.

Terminal officers and coordinators have been ordered to scan tickets from near the ship ramp and not when the cars enter the marshalling area. 

Sailors have been ordered not to operate the side ramp. As a result, passengers will have to enter the ship from the garage.

Apart from that, embarkation will only start seven minutes after the last vehicle from the previous trip has would have disembarked and passengers should be taken on board before cars.

The union reserved the right to increase actions.