Evolution and Maltese trade union reach swift resolution in NetEnt dispute

Malta’s General Workers Union (GWU) has ended its industrial action against Evolution over the restructuring of the NetEnt business after the union agreed an out-of-court settlement with the firm. The move follows extensive negotiations between Evolution, the GWU and elected employee representatives from the NetEnt brand over the last week and comes just 24 hours before the start of a court case into the restructuring. Crucially, this settlement will see 40 jobs, which were set to be cut as part of the restructuring, saved, with Evolution agreeing to re-employ members of staff. EGR has learned the union expects that a further 60 employees will be recruited by gaming and financial services operators based on the island in the coming months, with the GWU assisting employees in finding new roles. EGR can reveal that Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund contacted representatives of the GWU on Sunday, after the union successfully lobbied to have an injunction placed against the firm putting a hold on the redundancies on Friday afternoon. In an internal email to NetEnt employees, seen by EGR, concerning the injunction, Carlesund said: “I found the allegations unsubstantial but the uncertainty still made it painful for you, for your colleagues still working at NetEnt as a company. “This was turning into a destructive situation and it had to come to an end,” he added. The GWU has now agreed to discontinue the existing industrial dispute, ending the injunction and potentially all further action relating to the redundancies. Building on its initial severance pay package to employees, EGR can reveal that affected staff will now receive an additional Christmas ex-gratia gratuity payment of €750 (£675), regardless of whether they elect to resign before standard notice periods as part of its settlement with the union. Affected employees have been given until Saturday 19 December to accept the initial redundancy package with the new ex-gratia payment. Other benefits negotiated by the union include better safeguards for employees currently on maternity leave and the availability of the company’s health benefit package to affected employees. “We negotiated intensely and with determination,” GWU Secretary General Josef Bugeja said. “We saved jobs to the extent that this was possible. We ensured that all those who are being let go are suitably compensated,” he added. The GWU were assisted in the negotiations by Malta-based law firm Mifsud Bonnici Legal & Advisory.