'Go slow' directives and bad weather combined this morning to cause difficulties on the Gozo ferry service while the Union Haddiema Maghqudin insisted that it will not attend a conciliation meeting requested by the company.
Meanwhile, the GWU said it was supporting the UHM actions and urged its members to follow the directives. It however augured that a solution could be reached around a table.
Martin Caruana, secretary of the UHM's port and transport section told timesofmalta.com that the directives had been issued because the company had not offered any retroactive pay rises for 2009, 2010 and 2011 to bridge the gap since the last collective agreement expired. Nor had any proposals been made for the future.
"The workers are extremely angry, were it up to them, they would stop the service immediately. It is actually the union which is preventing the situation from worsening, out of respect to travellers," Mr Caruana said.
He told timesofmalta.com that the industrial action was meant to be called three weeks ago, but the union held off because of an appeal from the company's management.
The chairman and members of the company's management had...
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