Union loses dispute with Public Broadcasting Services

The General Workers’ Union in Malta argues that proposals agreed in the new collective agreement of the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) should still apply to employees who, following a restructuring exercise, were redeployed or given early retirement. However, the Industrial Tribunal has rejected the union’s claims and has decided that the new collective agreement will only cover workers currently employed by the PBS.

Restructuring at PBS

An industrial dispute between the General Workers’ Union (GWU) and the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) came to an end after two years of legal proceedings, dating back to 2004. The case followed a restructuring process at PBS, where the company’s workforce was substantially downsized from 178 employees to only 64 employees (MT0405101N). As part of the restructuring process, employees were presented with three different options, namely: early retirement schemes, redeployment within the company or redeployment in other state-owned departments and entities. GWU, the union representing PBS employees, took a stand to ensure that none of the workers were made redundant and that those who were redeployed retained their basic salary.

Employees who opted to stay on with the PBS had to re-apply for their jobs and attend an interview. An interview board was set up for this purpose, consisting of:

• a human resource (HR) consultant from a leading recruitment and consultancy agency, Misco;

• a representative from the Malta Investment Management Company (MIMCOL) – a state-owned consultancy agency providing professional support to a wide range of public sector organisations;

• the PBS chief executive officer.

In addition, a former editor of the leading Maltese newspaper, Times of Malta, and an expert in the broadcasting field joined the interview panel. Employees who opted for early retirement had to choose from four different schemes, which varied according to their age and seniority. Those who were not selected to remain at PBS were offered training, to enable them to be more employable when new opportunities arose at PBS. All of these measures were introduced following full consultation with the GWU.

New collective agreement

Following the restructuring process, a new collective agreement between the government, the PBS and the GWU was signed on 24 April 2004. However, discussions between the PBS and the GWU took a turn for the worst when the union insisted that the newly-signed collective agreement should also cover employees who had been redeployed or who had opted for early retirement. In particular, the GWU argued that the salaries of all employees, including those redeployed and those who chose early retirement, should be adjusted according to what the new collective agreement stipulated, depending on the worker’s employment grade. However, the PBS did not accept such a request. As a result, the case was brought to the attention of the Industrial Tribunal.

Ruling of Tribunal

The Industrial Tribunal did not regard the claims put forward by the GWU as being legitimate. On 2 February 2006, it ruled that the new collective agreement should only cover those employees who retained their posts with the PBS after the restructuring process. The Tribunal stated that GWU did not produce any evidence indicating that the collective agreement should also cover those who, following the restructuring exercise, were redeployed or who accepted early retirement. It also ruled that the new salary scheme should apply only to those who were re-employed at the PBS after restructuring.

Christine Farrugia, Sue-Ann Scott, Centre for Labour Studies, University of Malta