The government has so far not commented on whether former GRTU director-general Vince Farrugia will be required to resign from his post as a government-appointed representative on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), after the court ruled that there is enough evidence for him to be charged with perjury.
This week, l-Orizzont reported that the Malta Employers' Association (MEA) called for the immediate resignation of Vince Farrugia as Malta's representative on the EESC.
Mr Farrugia's appointment in 2010 was considered highly controversial, with many people labelling it as political manoeuvring. At the time, the MEA did not endorse the appointment.
Speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday, MEA director-general Joseph Farrugia said that the MEA's position is not directly related to any court proceedings, stressing that the association was against the appointment of Vince Farrugia from the start. The court ruling, however, would inevitably create more controversy on the tenability of his position in Brussels, he said. So far, the MEA has not managed to elicit any feedback from the authorities regarding Vince Farrugia's position.
Court rules enough evidence for perjury
Just over a week ago, the Maltese courts ruled that there was enough evidence for Mr Farrugia to be charged with perjury - and with inciting witnesses to commit the same offence - during the infamous court case in which former GRTU board member Sandro Chetcuti was initially charged with the attempted murder of Mr Farrugia. The charges, however, were later watered down to having caused Mr Farrugia slight injury.
Magistrate Aaron Bugeja said that the court was convinced that Farrugia had not only tried to influence witnesses by telling them how to testify, but he had also tried painting a picture to make the attack sound more brutal than it actually was.
In January, one witness testified in court that GRTU employees had agreed on a fictitious version of events to give to the police regarding the incident involving their former director-general and Mr Chetcuti.
She also admitted that Farrugia had contacted her several times, insisting that she should stick to this account.
Controversial appointment
When Vince Farrugia was appointed a member of the EESC in 2010, under a Nationalist administration, the MEA director-general had said it was unacceptable for the MEA not to be represented on the EESC.
It had pointed out that there was a place in Malta's delegation for one representative of employers, one for trade unions and one for civil society. The only way for Vince Farrugia to be on the EESC would be to represent civil society, said MEA director-general Joseph Farrugia.
The Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) had also disagreed with the government's appointment, expressing the same views as the MEA.
This week, representatives of The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) told l-Orizzont that Mr Farrugia's appointment had never been acceptable and was even less so now.
Mr Farrugia resigned from his post as GRTU director-general in September 2012.
The former GRTU's director contract should come to an end in the next month or two, and a call for nominations should be published in the near future.