William Portelli has been re-elected as president of the Malta Union of Bank Employees for a fourth successive term after being contested by Arthur Cilia during the annual general meeting of the union held yesterday.

Mr Portelli took office in 1999 and was recently elected president of the Confederation of Maltese Trade Unions.

Apart from reporting on the strength of MUBE’s expertise and knowledge, Mr Portelli emphasised that the union’s future has to be managed better if progress is to be registered in the areas of communication and in the field of negotiations.

M Portelli said there was the urgent need to take an even more innovative approach to negotiations while training new recruits on the skills of negotiation and communication should be of top priority.

He also proposed the setting up of a commission with the task of exploring new ways of improving and modernising policy, enhancing the union’s application to more effective industrial relations while phasing out old practices in favour of more innovative ones.