Last week, the foundation ordered those part-time custodians who had worked more than 20 hours a week over the past month not to report to work until September.

The GWU said it had objected to the directive and appealed for the foundation to allow custodians to continue on the roster they had been given until the end of August.

The union said it had offered to attend a conciliatory meeting if the foundation withdrew its directives as a gesture of goodwill. This did not happen, said the union, and therefore the union did not attend.

On Wednesday, industrial relations director Frank Pullicino was called in and another conciliatory meeting was called for this morning, with the foundation rescinding the directives. In fact, part-time custodians returned to work yesterday morning and those sections of the cathedral and museums which had been closed were re-opened. As a result, the GWU will be attending this morning’s meeting.