The General Workers’ Union was failing to address the problem of low productivity at Malta Shipyards but replacing that culture was the only way that the workers could ensure a better future for themselves, the shipyards’ management said yesterday.

The management was replying to a news conference by the union.

It said the shipyards’ business plan provided for a capital expenditure of Lm10 million over five years. This year, Lm1.7 million would be spent and capital expenditure would continue because money has been voted for it.

The management recalled that under the restructuring plan, the government had waived Lm300 million owed by the shipyards to the Finance Ministry. At the time, Malta Drydocks was managed by a workers-elected council, some of whom today manage the GWU’s Metal and Construction Section and advise on how the shipyards should be run.

Since 2003, the management added, the government had handed over more than Lm66 million in other subsidies.

At its news conference, the management added, the GWU had again avoided to address the low productivity problem.

This had for long been identified as the main obstacle to the shipyards achieving their aims. So long as the union continued ignoring this problem, the results would remain bad and the shipyards’ future endangered.

The management appealed to the union to join it in its efforts to bring about a culture change under which low productivity would no longer be considered as something not to be touched. It was only in this way that the workers could ensure a better future for themselves.