The Union Haddiema Maghudin has welcomed the fact that “at long last”, the GWU has stated that it will start working in the interest of workers.
In a statement issued today, the UHM referred to a front-page article published today in the GWU newspaper l-Orizzont and in its online version which stated that the GWU always focused on workers’ interests.
The Malta Independent earlier this week revealed that De La Rue’s workers were ‘subtly threatened’ not to join the UHM and to sign a petition backing GWU section secretary David Darmanin. We also revealed that a number of clauses were removed from the collective agreement and replaced by a number of new restrictions for workers at De La Rue, something the company denied. Workers who spoke to our newsroom claimed that this was done behind their backs between the GWU and the management of De La Rue.
In our article we had also explained that a GWU official (Darmanin) had hung up on us twice when we tried to contact him for a comment on the issue. We had also sent him an e-mail but to no avail. This newsroom also revealed that De La Rue was sending HR staff to check on De La Rue’s workers who were out on sick leave.
In its unsigned article, l-Orizzont stated that The Malta Independent article was intended to “help the UHM’s cause”.
In its statement, the UHM said is clear that the GWU was not putting the interest of workers first so much so that the workers of De La Rue have sought shelter with the UHM to defend their interests.
“The workers decided to confide in the UHM after they realised that De La Rue and the GWU had ‘secretly’ included a number of clauses in the collective agreement “signed behind the workers’ backs”.
“These facts, the UHM continued, were not denied by the GWU since they are facts workers are aware of.
“The workers of De La Rue many a time tried to ask the GWU for assistance but unfortunately the same union did not achieve any results for the workers. Even worse, the workers are starting to think that the GWU is starting to surrender its ‘weapons’.
“Where was the GWU all along? Why did not the GWU explain why it conducted changes to the collective agreement? Why is the GWU accepting the fact that workers’ conditions are being affected negatively? Where was the GWU when De La Rue sent its HR to the homes of workers who were out on sick leave to check on them?,” the UHM asked.
The UHM said that a number of De La Rue workers who are members of the GWU attended a meeting which was held on Saturday by the UHM.
The UHM said that it would never react in the same way as a GWU official did, by hanging up on the media when he was contacted for a comment.