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James Debono
The government will be facing Victor Scerri, the president of the Nationalist Party, in negotiations on port reform instead of Tony Zarb or Gejtu Mercieca.
On Thursday, In-Nazzjon revealed that 22 out of 29 foreman had asked the General Workers Union’s leadership not to represent them in negotiations in port reform and have asked the PN’s president and section secretary Emmanuel Zammit to represent their interests.
This was the second consecutive blow for the General Workers Union after port workers choose former MLP leader Dr George Abela to represent them in these negotiations.
The negotiations will see the government attempting to reform archaic work practices in order to reduce costs by increasing efficiency at the port.
The PN president, who will be representing foremen licensed to employ port workers alongside General Workers Union section secretary Emmanuel Zammit, will seek to protect the interests of workers: “I am working together with the GWU’s section secretary for the best interests of workers,” Scerri told MaltaToday about the ironic partnership.
Industry sources have interpreted the involvement of a PN official in these negotiations as an indication that government is more interested in undermining the hold of the General Workers Union in the port than in implementing the necessary reforms to decrease costs at the port.
Asked whether the government is more interested in undermining the GWU than implementing these reforms, the Minister for Communication and Competitiveness Censu Galea, who is responsible for reforms at the ports, reiterated government’s commitment and sole interest to bring costs at the port down by 25 per cent.
The minister would not comment on pending negotiations on the liberalisation of the sector by opening up licences for new port workers.
But despite a possible clash between workers and government, Scerri told MaltaToday there was no conflict in representing port workers whose interests might conflict with the Nationalist-led government’s commitment to bring down costs and increase efficiency.
He said that as a private lawyer he has a right to defend those who request his services: “The reform is being discussed between workers and the government. As a PN official I am not part of the government.”
According to PN secretary-general Joe Saliba, his party’s position on port reform is identical to that of government, that of increasing efficiency and decreasing costs. Saliba said there was no conflict: “The Nationalist Party is against criminality, but that does not preclude party officials from defending criminals in court. The same applies to Victor Scerri’s work as a lawyer.”
Asked whether port workers have sought his legal services due to his position as high-ranking PN official, Scerri replied that he has been representing some of these workers for a number of years.
Saliba even refused to answer the question, claiming that raising these question amounts to “racism against politicians”.
Saliba contends that the only organisation which has a conflict of interest in port reform is the General Workers Union in its role as owner of Cargo Handling Ltd, another major stakeholder in the port.
The negotiations on reforming labyrinthine port system involving cargo hauliers, port workers and stevedores is a very sensitive issue both to the Nationalist-led government and to the General Workers Union. The port is the source of much of the union’s financial and political strength.
Since 1971, when the MLP was elected to government, the General Workers Union used to enjoy a monopoly in the port. As the owner of Cargo Handling Ltd the union was responsible for storing and unstacking cargo from ships and to stock and unload cargo in and out of sheds.
This company handles all cranage and other equipment for the stacking and release of cargo.
The government has liberalised this sector by issuing a call for tenders. The GWU is currently making a joint bid with Marin Hili’s company to win this tender. If it loses this bid, the GWU stands to lose a major source of revenue.
Port-workers who are also GWU members are licensed to handle cargo in the process of loading or cargo on or from a ship. Foremen are licensed to act as the employers of port workers.
Despite joining the European Union, the government can still limit the number of licensed port workers in what remains essentially a closed shop.
However any new vacancies that may arise must be filled on a competitive basis. Port workers used to inherit their jobs from their parents by right.
During negotiations with the EU it was agreed that only the next-in-line descendants of present port workers are to inherit this job. In this way the inheritance system is set to die a natural death.
Industry sources say that exorbitant costs at the port are likely to increase rather than increase once the new company takes over cargo handling especially if it makes new investments in the port.
“The only way to bring about the 25 per cent decrease in costs promised by the government is to untangle the many knots in this labyrinthine system. Middlemen charging very high prices to transport goods out of the port on their trucks, are mostly to blame for Malta’s exorbitant prices,” industry sources told sister newspaper Business Today.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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