The secretary of the General Workers’ Union Maritime and Aviation section, Manwel Zammit yesterday tendered his resignation from his post because the union’s administration made his life a “misery”.

Mr Zammit is the third union official who has left the union in the past weeks. His resignation followed the dismissal of the Public Sector section secretary Josephine Attard Sultana and section president Francis Buttigieg.

The section’s executive council also resigned en bloc.

Mr Zammit said he decided to call it a day because of the “impossible atmosphere” within which he had to work as a result of the administration’s attitude towards him. He said he had to call it a day against his will, adding that he never thought he would arrive to the point of resigning from the union for which he worked so hard for years.

The former section secretary said the union’s administration went to great lengths to tarnish his reputation within the union as well as within his section. However, he said, even though there was this tide against him, he still worked in the best interest of workers and the union’s members.

“I could not just stand and watch the union administration’s attack on me and the autonomy of my section. I could not work in this environment and I could not wait for the bubble to burst. This is why I took this difficult but courageous decision,” he said.

Mr Zammit thanked the section’s executive council and delegates who helped him and supported him throughout this ordeal. He also thanked them for their solidarity.

Raymond Arpa, who has been a GWU member since 1975, withdrew his membership in solidarity with Mr Zammit.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the GWU said it was accepting Mr Zammit’s resignation from his post as section secretary as well as the resignation of the section’s executive council, four members of whom were also members on the union’s National Council.

The union said none of the resignation letters actually detailed the reason behind the resignation.

The union said its administration never had a dispute with the section’s officials although the impression is being given that there was a rift between the two. The GWU also expressed its dissatisfaction at the criticism levelled against it even though it is doing its best to protect workers and their families.