IT staff end industrial action amid controversy after internet outage

Staff at the Information Technology & Logistics Department and the Treasury IT section have stopped their industrial action in the wake of controversy following an internet outage on Monday, which the government claimed could have been deliberate.

Staff had been on go slow and refusing discretionary overtime as part of a dispute with the government over differences in pay scales between IT jobs in government departments and those in the GHA.

The GGCA union, which backed the action, said disparity of up to 45% for “practically identical” jobs “jeopardised” IT&LD and the Treasury IT’s ability to retain experienced and skilled personnel, leading to overstretched resources despite the critical nature of their roles.

“They’re back to work as normal but the parity claim is still there,” said Wendy Cumming, the GGCA president.

“They are not abandoning the claim.”

The outage on Monday arose during vital maintenance work by IT&LD staff on government internet services. Without that work, the systems could have been open to vulnerabilities.

Such work would normally be carried out outside normal working hours but because IT&LD staff were not undertaking discretionary overtime as part of their industrial action, it had to be done during working hours.

The result was that government desktop computers were unable to access email or internet services. The Royal Gibraltar Police’s systems were also affected.

Other services including the Gibraltar Parliament’s livestream were hit too, meaning viewers were unable to follow an important debate on the parliament’s website.

The government’s response was furious and suggested the outage could amount to “deliberate sabotage”. No.6 Convent Place said it would refer the matter to the police.

On Tuesday night, Ms Cumming said she was “horrified and concerned” by that response to what she said was lawful industrial action, adding the government had refused to engage with the union prior to the events this week.

The government had previously rejected the claim put forward by the GGCA and maintained its position that the salaries and pay scales of IT&LD and Treasury IT staff were “just and proportionate” to roles and experience, with clear paths for career progression.

And last night, it maintained its tough stance on the week’s events after noting the GGCA’s update.

The Government “…reminds the GGCA that the Trade Union and Disputes Act has never provided any union or any worker with the right to carry out criminal actions in pursuit of industrial action,” No.6 Convent Place said in a statement.

“Indeed, the Act, which is one of the most generous in the world in protecting the right of working people to protest and carry on industrial disputes, specifically provides protection against civil actions but not criminal damage.”

“The Government welcomes the end of this dispute and reminds the GGCA that its attitude to the unreasonable claim will not change.”

“Additionally, the Chief Secretary is already in communication with the Royal Gibraltar Police, has provided a timeline of events and will provide with further evidence the Government has at its disposal on the events which led up to the interference with its systems of communication which affected the national security of Gibraltar, its ability to deliver services related to health and systems of transport.”

“It will also pursue its concerns relating to these issues through other powers at its disposal.”