The Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises said that all cargo hauliers have returned back to work as of yesterday morning, after a meeting held between the hauliers and the GRTU.
The Chamber said that it had also met Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to resolve the pending issues that had brought the Freeport to a standstill over the last few days.
In a statement released yesterday, Malta Freeport said that it had never had an office in Marsa, which was the major bone of contention between the two sides, as the GRTU complained that this office had closed down, to the inconvenience of its members who had to go to Birzebbuga more than once a day to complete transactions.
“A Freeport cashier used to share an office with the Cargo Handling cashiers,” said the Freeport in a statement.
“Now that Cargo Handling Co. Ltd is out of the picture of local cargo, and now that the Valletta and the Marsaxlokk cargo operations are completely distinct and operated separately, it only makes sense that Malta Freeport consolidates its operation in one office closer to the centre of its operations”, the statement continued.
It said that a state-of-the-art cash office – with extended office hours – has been set up at the Freeport Centre and parking facilities have been enhanced to ensure that cargo hauliers (or whoever settles Freeport handling charges, including ship agents and importers/exporters) are given an efficient service.
The hauliers’ representatives had already been advised, said the Freeport, that an online payment system with a leading local bank had been planned to be up and running by the end of this year.
The Freeport said that it has been open for business as usual during the action taken by GRTU.
In addition to assisting local industry, Malta Freeport decided to keep its gates open for extended hours yesterday and also today.
The Malta Chamber of Commerce & Enterprise, the Malta Federation of Industry and the Malta Employers Association expressed their satisfaction at the lifting of the industrial action that was ordered by the GRTU at the Malta Freeport last Monday.
In a joint statement, the chamber, FOI and MEA reiterated that the solution to any industrial dispute can always be found through discussion.
“Industrial action that harms third parties not directly involved in a dispute is never a solution,” they said. “In this particular case, where the dispute was so trivial, business and industry have been unnecessarily harmed.”
The three employer organisations insist that a union should explore all conciliatory avenues before resorting to any drastic industrial action. They believe this approach is always to the advantage of all concerned.
They also expressed the hope that this particular industrial action at the Freeport will not have any permanent repercussions on the private sector and that the situation will return to normal as soon as possible.