Frank Galea’s letter entitled “Further Explanation”(TMIS, 21 March) is further proof of his erroneous view that the founding of UHM had anything to do with political connections.

The ‘struggle for power in the PN’ as alleged by Mr Galea is only a paranoid assumption of this occasion in history. I had been active in UHM from 1974, having been secretary of the Health Services Section for 23 years and, without wanting to sound patronising, I feel I know something about how the UHM was created. But, above all things, trade union actions taken by UHM under different governments prove that our union was founded as, and continues to be, a free trade union for all Maltese workers.

Mr Galea conveniently continued to bypass the 1990 reform agreement of civil service, which recognised the career paths of all service employees including professionals, remunerating them according to their classification.

As for Mr Galea’s views on the salaries and bonuses of professionals, it is a known fact that the present MUT’s dispute with the government is about allowances like those ‘that were awarded to health service employees’. So nothing original in this case on the part of MUT as against the pretensions of Mr Galea.

Despite the good or bad perceptions levelled at UHM by Mr Galea and his like, UHM will remain a bulwark of free trade unionism for employees in all places of work.

John M. Briffa

ZABBAR