The expected resignation in the next few days of the majority of port workers, members of the General Workers’ Union, is another tough blow for the union.
In only a couple of weeks, the GWU has lost some of its top officials. The sacking of public service section secretary Josephine Attard Sultana and the resignation of the union’s maritime and aviation section secretary Emanuel Zammit, another union stalwart, has rocked the GWU’s structure.
While secretary-general Tony Zarb may play down signs of internal strife, the fact is that the union’s central administration is facing one of its biggest challenges in years. More than that, the union is losing the experience and qualities of individuals who have worked hard to defend the interests of the workers they represent.
The GWU may have appointed new executives to the council but it will take quite some time before these sections regain the credibility and confidence they enjoyed in the past.
Undoubtedly, the GWU will be following developments very closely in the coming days. On Wednesday, more than 160 workers of the 207 who attended a meeting in Qormi said they would be resigning from the GWU. Another 160 or so workers still have to be approached. If the majority of them resign, the General Workers’ Union will have lost one of its most important strongholds and 300 members. And that, inevitably, will weaken the union’s power.
The port workers have now decided to register a new union. Joe Saliba, the maritime and aviation section’s former president, told reporters that the workers had decided to quit because of the interference of the union’s administration, which undermined the section’s work and autonomy.
The workers also decided that George Abela, former Malta Labour Party deputy leader and former GWU legal adviser, would be their consultant in a new union. Dr Abela is an important consideration, because he is seen to be a moderate but excellent negotiator. And he has the support of many members of the GWU, even among those who remain within the GWU.
The GWU’s central administration will be wondering what is going to happen next – will other sections start mulling over the idea of leaving the GWU and joining the port workers’ union – if it will be open to other groups of workers?
How will the new union influence the balance of trade union power in Malta? Will the port workers demand representation on the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development? How will the port workers’ departure from the GWU affect the government’s plans for port reform?
What is happening within the GWU may be just the beginning of a general shift in trade union allegiances. Are workers starting to focus more on their rights and who can defend them instead of which union is “closest” to the government in power? Does it matter if the union is the GWU or the Union Haddiema Maghqudin?
The General Workers’ Union is, and remains, the largest worker union in Malta but other unions are fast gaining ground – in numbers and in influence. The latest resignations certainly confirm that groups of workers are fed up with political interference that is affecting the decisions taken by the union. The port workers alleged that the GWU’s central administration had interfered too much and prevented it from doing its job: was this interference, in part, of a political nature?
To what extent has the union’s “relationship” with the Labour Party contributed to these developments? The Labour Party has limited itself to saying that these developments are “union matters” but this is surprising, when senior Labour officials can be seen standing next to the GWU’s leadership whenever a national protect is organised.
Interference by the GWU’s central administration is said to be the root of the problem. However, it seems that the problems run deeper and are more complex, and indicate a situation in which the might of the GWU is being threatened.