It is inevitable, as you say (Inevitable trend, TMID, 26 June), that jobs are lost while Maltese industry goes through a transition from one that was based mostly on low-end manufacturing to one that is high-end, apart from moving into spheres such as pharmaceuticals and information technology.

We saw it happen last year with the Denim Services factory, and we are seeing it again this year at VF Jeanswear and Bortex. It will happen elsewhere in the not too distant future.

What is unfortunate is that, in all this, it is the individual worker who suffers the most. There are also occasions where a husband and wife work in the same factory, and both are made redundant at the same time. Can you imagine the tragedy?

I believe that the government should be more supportive.

I agree that the Employment and Training Corporation should always be at the ready to offer its services to large groups of employees who end up without a job, but I also believe that there should be a special fund that would sustain such employees, at least for the first six months after losing their jobs because of this “restructuring”. I am not saying that they should be given their full wages, but every little bit helps in the circumstances. Unions should also do their part, and have their own fund to help these workers.

ALFRED MICALLEF

San Gwann