The public service architects’ and engineers’ union, the Union Periti u Inginiera tas-Servizz Pubbliku, warned yesterday it would have to resort to industrial action if talks were not started soon about conditions of work.

Its statement follows the concern expressed by the Malta Union of Teachers, which earlier this week said the government had upset public service salary scales when it entered into an agreement with another union. The MUT did not mention the name of the union, but is known to have been referring to the agreement the government signed with the Medical Association of Malta.

Criticising the attitude of the Management Personnel Office, the UPISP said the last sectoral agreement had been concluded in 1993 and it was now time for it to be reviewed. The aim was not only to improve conditions of work but also to improve the services rendered to the government and the public.

The MPO, the UPISP said, had been delaying matters after being presented with a draft sectoral agreement. Appealing for talks to start in the shortest possible time to resolve problems its members faced, the union said it would otherwise have no alternative but to issue industrial action directives.