The news that the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin’s top officials will not be contesting the next election after 13 years of leadership came like a bolt out of the blue.

Secretary general Gejtu Vella, president Gejtu Tanti and vice-president Joe Vella have decided to step down to make way for a younger group of officials to take over the running of the union. Together they took over 13 years ago, and together they will move out in October, when the UHM’s general conference will take place. It seems that the decision was taken a year ago, but it was kept under wraps until last Friday’s press conference.

It is a pity that the trade union sector will lose the competence, level-headedness and serene characteristics of these experienced leaders. Although Mr Gejtu Vella was the most prominent official in this union, we are sure that both Mr Tanti and Mr Joe Vella were behind him in all the decisions that were taken.

But the greatest pity of it all is that the UHM leadership is arguably the most rational in the national trade union sector. While other unions and their leaders are more militant and many times have taken rash decisions that were detrimental to the whole country, the UHM leaders have always shown that while their main interest – like any union – is to seek better conditions for their members, they do not fail to see the overall picture. They know that it is a matter of give and take.

Their withdrawal from the scene will therefore create a vacuum that the UHM will need to fill as quickly as possible, both for its own well-being as well as for the nation’s progress. Let us not forget that the UHM has a seat on the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, where major decisions are taken.

We do hope that the trio will serve as a sounding board for the officials who will replace them, at least until the new leaders learn the ropes. While it is understandable that the new leaders will want to leave their imprint on the UHM, it would be wrong if they ignore the wealth of experience that the current top officials have accumulated.