Unjoni Haddiema Mghaqudin Voice of the Workers welcomed the news that the Malta Freeport Terminal Ltd has acknowledged it as the leading union which will be representing the Freeport general workforce, as well as negotiating on their behalf.

A letter sent to the union, from the HR, Health and Safety, and Quality department, said that the acknowledgment was a result of the Freeport election which took place some days ago. This is in line with the Employment and Industrial Relations Department (DIER) report.

This report clearly shows how the UHM won 275 votes, while the General Workers’ Union was awarded 254 votes. The UHM would like to point out that it was the verification panel from DIER itself, which published the report yesterday. This further confirmed the UHM statement delivered outside the Freeport itself last Tuesday.

This official confirmation by Freeport management provides a mandate for the UHM to represent the workers.

Josef Vella, chief executive office of the UHM said that the workers have expressed themselves and placed their trust in the UHM. The union insisted that the collective agreement should be concluded within three months.