William Portelli, the CMTU president, gave an interview to The Malta Independent on Sunday of 27 March in an attempt to absolve himself from his own faults. But his interview resulted in nothing more than a pathetic attempt which confirms the state of confusion Mr Portelli is in.
Mr Portelli likened the GWU to a political party for criticizing him as CMTU president. It is obvious then that he does not distinguish between himself the person and himself the CMTU president, so much so that he believes that the criticism levelled at him as CMTU president is a personal attack. It is amazing how he is playing himself the victim of personal attacks when it is he who is attacking. He went even as far as to say that such attacks (!) are synonymous with political parties, as if political parties are there to attack people personally. If this is truly how Mr Portelli views the political parties in Malta, then he surely needs some political studies.
The CMTU president has given one and all another proof how the CMTU acts when it is cornered. It starts kicking in all directions, especially at the GWU even when the GWU has nothing to do with the issue in question. It is no secret today that the real problems and differences are between the FORUM and the CMTU because of the latter’s obstinate opposition to the FORUM’s bid to join the ETUC. In this context, common sense suggests therefore that this issue has to be resolved only between the FORUM and the CMTU as the GWU is not part of it. There is no question then that the problems Mr. Portelli say exists between the CMTU and the GWU is only a stint of his fixation.
Nonetheless, the GWU will continue to strongly support the FORUM’s efforts to be part of both MCESD and ETUC. This consistent approach by the GWU has been evident since the year 2006 when it included the membership of FORUM in its proposals for the restructuring of MCESD. That proposal was meant to strike a crucial balance in the MCESD formation as the present situation in the MCESD favours the employer organisations with five seats as against the trade unions’ four. There should be no doubt then on the reason why the GWU adamantly supports FORUM’s membership of MCESD. Moreover, the GWU 2006 report refers also to civil society and proposes adequate representation of civil society organisations in MCESD with equal rights and standings that the employer and the trade union organisations entertain.
The GWU is now quite right to challenge the CMTU president to declare unequivocally if he is in agreement or not with the inclusion of civil society in MCESD with the same rights that all the other representatives in MCESD enjoy. Moreover, the GWU also challenges Mr Portelli to state beyond doubt whether he had read or not the report prepared by the UHM regarding civil society and the voting rights within MCESD.
The CMTU President is certainly aware that, besides the GWU, there are members from both sides of the House of Representatives who are in favour of FORUM joining MCESD. This proves that the GWU’s support to FORUM is not a voice in the wilderness.
The way the CMTU and its president are acting today goes against all trade union logic considering that the wider the workers’ representation the more they can influence and shape things. Therefore, the CMTU’s opposition to FORUM becoming members of both MCESD and ETUC does not make any sense at all.
The GWU have no doubt that there is a hidden agenda somewhere. CMTU is not simply opposing the FORUM for fun. It had already shown its intentions through its president when he opposed the FORUM from having a seat on the Board of the Centre for Labour Studies (of the university) on the pretext that FORUM is not yet a member of MCESD and ETUC and therefore it cannot have a seat on the Board of CLS. If there was any doubt about the CMTU’s agenda regarding the FORUM, this case provides ample evidence. In view of this, one can be justified to suspect that CMTU is after vengeance and not collaboration. Ironically, history will show that while the employers’ representatives on the Board of CLS voted in favour of FORUM’s inclusion a trade union confederation by the name of CMTU voted against.
The CMTU president who is always claiming that he is being personally attacked, felt no shame on his part to attack a GWU official for showing to the ETUC executive committee members a copy of the interview that UHM Secretary General Gejtu Vella gave to a local newspaper in which he declared himself against a TUC in Malta. Mr Portelli, in his ranting, misquoted the GWU official as saying that Mr Vella said that this is not the time to have a Trades Union Council in Malta. The facts are that the GWU official in question quoted correctly the words Mr Vella said that “a TUC in Malta is not beneficial to the workers”. Even here Mr Portelli went far off the mark. Is it possible that the president of CMTU is not aware that the General Secretary of his biggest affiliate, the UHM, was heard, on more than one occasion, declaring that as long as he’s still at the helm of UHM, a TUC in Malta is not be possible?
On the whole, the GWU is not ashamed of how it acted within ETUC so much so that it circulated among the ETUC executive committee members the copy of Mr Vella’s interview well ahead of the ETUC meeting. Therefore, the GWU expect Mr Portelli explain how the GWU harmed the FORUM’s application to join the ETUC by simply showing Mr Vella’s quoted opinion about a Maltese TUC? The GWU is certain that the CMTU president has no answer at all.
What is tangibly true is that during the ETUC Committee meeting of the 8 and 9 March 2011 no delegate was singled out or expressed an opinion contrary to FORUM’s bid to join the ETUC. Only the CMTU representatives expressed their position against and if it wasn’t for the shameful pressure they tried to exert on various ETUC executive committee, FORUM would have already be members of ETUC by now.
Putting into the equation the CMTU’s behaviour within ETUC, the CMTU president cannot be taken seriously when states that he favours better relations between the trade unions in Malta, considering also that three days after Mr Portelli’s statement on better trade union relations, the Secretary General of CMTU’s largest affiliate, the UHM, came out with a contrary opinion to that expressed by the CMTU president. This is a clear evidence that within CMTU the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.
Further on, Mr Portelli was quoted as having said in the interview that now is not the right time that FORUM becomes an ETUC or MCESD member because of risking further fragmentation. What fragmentation? Is it fragmentation within the CMTU that he is speaking of? Or he is so worried of defections from the CMTU if FORUM is accepted to form part of ETUC?
Mr Portelli referred also to the dinner hosted by John Monks, the ETUC Secretary General after the Brussels meeting to which he invited the GWU and CMTU officials to try to sort things out. Mr Portelli said that the GWU wanted the FORUM officials to attend as well, as if the GWU wanted to impose something on someone. The GWU wanted FORUM official to attend for that dinner it saw in the gesture of Mr Monks a golden opportunity for the three trade union confederations to sort things out in the presence of Mr Monks himself. This was the only reason why the GWU wanted FORUM to be invited also for the dinner as well. The GWU wanted this to happen even if it knows that Mr Portelli could not negotiate on behalf of CMTU as his hands are tight roped.
The CMTU is prepared to bring up every excuse so that the three confederations – GWU, FORUM and CMTU will never come together. In the past, previous CMTU Presidents were wise enough to maintain good relations with the GWU to the extent that the two confederations used to hold meeting between them regularly. In view of those relations the GWU, as one of the 1973 founding members of ETUC, did not oppose the CMTU’s request to become member of ETUC. Today, the situation is very different as never before the CMTU was in a state of confusion as it is under the headship of Mr. William Portelli.
The idiotic attempt of the president of CMTU to consider the GWU as a simple trade union and not a confederation is a proof of this confusion. Perhaps, Mr William Portelli has conveniently forgotten that the GWU is made up of different autonomous trade secretariats. This particular status of the GWU is not only accepted locally but also recognised internationally by the International Labour Organisation, the European Trade Union Confederation and the International Trade Union Confederation, and by many other European and International confederations and trade secretariats.
Moreover Mr Portelli contradicts himself when on one hand he tries to undermine the GWU by saying that it is not a confederation, while at the same time he claims that GWU and CMTU should get into agreement to improve their relations with each other. Maybe his is an elapsed memory when on more than once he said that the problem exists between the GWU and the UHM and not between the GWU and the CMTU. Therefore, the GWU cannot understand the reason why Mr. Portelli declares that he wants good and lasting relations between the CMTU and the GWU.
In trying to justify his claims, the president of CMTU often laments that the GWU uses its newspaper to attack the CMTU and the UHM. Another incorrect statement of the president of CMTU. Mr Portelli surely knows that the GWU retaliates only when it is unjustly attacked. Therefore, does Mr. Portelli expect the GWU to turn a blind eye, stay mum and not defend itself in such situations? If this is what he expects he is verging on the impossible.
For the sake of the argument, if the GWU give its word that it will not use its newspapers in the way Mr Portelli is accusing it of, would the CMTU President guarantee the same of the newspapers friendly to the CMTU and UHM? If he guarantees this then we would have moved a step forward.
The CMTU president should know that trust between the trade unions can only be built on mutual respect and understanding. For this to succeed, the CMTU have to recognize immediately that in Malta there are three confederations, the GWU, FORUM and CMTU. Until this is achieved the relations between the trade unions unfortunately cannot prosper.
The CMTU has a golden opportunity at the next ETUC Executive Committee meeting on 28 April to turn a new page and start a new chapter on trade union unity in Malta.
Charles Vella
Media and Information
General Workers’ Union
Editorial note:
This letter is a Right of Reply requested under the Press Act and, as such, has not been altered from its original form