The new cargo-handling consortium has guaranteed that it will retain all workers for three years but will carry out a performance audit in the four months after 1 July when the consortium starts operating, informed sources told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

This newspaper is informed that the workers committee, represented by General Workers Union Section Secretary Emmanuel Zammit and the union’s lawyer Aron Mifsud Bonnici, had a four-hour meeting with the consortium of Tumas Group and representatives of Portex Ltd of Singapore on Friday.

During the meeting, various conditions of the deal were ironed out with the consortium’s lawyer Dr Mario de Marco also present, The Malta Independent on Sunday was told.

The conditions proposed by the consortium, which were approved at a meeting for all employees yesterday by a majority vote are as follows:

Employees’ jobs and basic pay will be guaranteed.

The consortium will retain the workers for three years.

After the evaluation and retraining procedure, employees who are found to be surplus to the requirements of the company will be redeployed within the Tumas Group.