More 'industrial action' that targets the weak

Unions were set up to protect industrial employees (the weak) from the depredations of the strong (capitalist employers in industry), hence the term ‘industrial action’.

Now we have ‘industrial action’ being used by unions of people in the care services and vocational occupations against their patients, their pupils, their students and, we’ve discovered today, penniless refugees. They have no conscience.

The Times, Monday, 12th January 2009
Immigrants’ welfare workers take action over favouritism claim

Welfare workers with the government’s immigration agency will not register refugees for financial benefits as from this morning as part of industrial action called in protest against the way recent vacancies were handled.

The issue has been brewing for several months, according to Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin section secretary Joe Bonello, and centres around the way recent vacancies at the Organisation for the Integration and Welfare of Asylum Seekers (Oaiwas) were assigned by the management. There had been cases of people who were appointed to new posts before the job interview results had been made public, he claimed, adding that, when the union pointed this out, the management published the results but then reshuffled the organisation to “accommodate certain people”.

“This showed a clear case of favouritism and employees have had enough,” he said. The union has now ordered industrial action that will continue until “deserving employees” are granted the jobs in a transparent manner.

Employees, mostly social workers, care workers and care coordinators, have also been instructed not to deliver cheques to young migrants in their residential homes. The migrants will instead have to go to the Oaiwas head office to pick up the “pocket money” provided by the government.

This morning the management and the union will attend a meeting with the Director of Industrial and Employment Relations, Noel Vella, at 10 a.m. to discuss the matter. When contacted yesterday, Oaiwas director Alex Tortell said he would rather not comment before the meeting.

Oaiwas was set up two years ago as the official umbrella to coordinate residential homes and open centres initially operating out of the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity. The aim was to promote coherency in reception and integration policies. The organisation’s roles include coordinating the management and care of the open centre network; helping to facilitate the process for the inclusion of refugees, temporary humanitarian and asylum seekers into society; identifying accommodation facilities and the responsible allocation of public resources.