A court yesterday ruled against General Workers Union secretary general Tony Zarb as complainant in a libel suit filed against Maltarightnow.com.

Mr Zarb had filed the writ in connection with an article published by Maltarightnow.com’s former editor Karl Stagno Navarra on 28 January 2005 entitled Tony Zarb compromises negotiations. Goes on Super One TV and urges support for the MLP. Annoyed unions ready to carry on without GWU.

The GWU secretary general also took exception to an editorial entitled The reasoning and choice of the GWU. The union man claimed the articles were defamatory and libellous in his regard.

The court took the article into context and said it was published at the time when the social pact negotiations were taking place, saying that Mr Zarb felt that it was the GWU’s fault that discussions had broken down and that he had encouraged people to take part in the MLP’s rally at the time.

The court also noted that there had been an agreement between all parties to keep the matter confidential yet the GWU had breached that commitment when Mr Zarb appeared on a Super One programme which was intended to drum up support for the MLP’s said rally. The court also said that comment put in the article by Mr Stagno Navarra was indeed fair comment and Mr Zarb as a prominent person within one of the largest trade unions in Malta, can be subject to fair comment and a wide basis of freedom to criticism.

The court therefore decided against Mr Zarb’s complaint and ordered him to pay legal expenses relevant to the case.