Zarb faces questioning at GWU council today

Tony Zarb's leadership of the General Workers' Union is likely to be called in question when the union's national council meets today.

The union's general secretary faces strong criticism on two fronts: a declaration by him to drydocks workers section secretary Tony Coleiro, which is seen as going against council policy, and Mr Zarb's aim to eliminate one of the union's sections.

Mr Zarb is seen as having acted behind the council's back when he told Mr Coleiro last year that he could continue with his door to door canvassing for the next general elections.

The firebrand Mr Coleiro was in turmoil with the union last year when he declared that he was going to contest the next elections in the Labour Party's interests.

The union administration, seeing its politically tainted image sinking, felt that Mr Coleiro's active involvement in politics went against the union's rules. Mr Coleiro, it was felt, had to decide whether he wanted to remain a union official or whether he wanted to fight Labour's political cause. The union's national council had backed the administration in its stand.

After a protracted battle with the union, Mr Coleiro handed in the towel by signing a declaration that he was no longer a party candidate.

"If in future I decide to participate in politics, this would mean that the post of secretary would be automatically terminated," the declaration read.

But according to union sources, it now transpires that before this declaration was signed, Mr Zarb had met the union's yard workers' executive committee and told Mr Coleiro in their presence that he could continue with his door to door canvassing.

Former Cospicua mayor Paul Muscat wrote in the union's paper, l-orizzont, on September 30 that Mr Coleiro was actively canvassing for the next general election.

Contacted for his reactions some days later, Mr Zarb had said he had not yet read Mr Muscat's letter.

The sources said that at this stage it was not important whether or not Mr Coleiro was canvassing as the declaration he had signed was that he would no longer be a union official when he became a candidate -ºand candidates are named only when a general election is called. But the general secretary's declaration to him, which went against the decision of the union's council, was felt to be unacceptable.

Another issue which is expected to be raised at today's council meeting is whether the union should continue to have nine sections.

Mr Zarb wants to eliminate the telecommunications and energy workers' section, whose membership is made up of employees at Enemalta, PBS and Maltacom.

As the current section secretary, Lino Debono, is retiring soon, Mr Zarb had temporarily placed Charles Vella, the union's information officer, in the post. This indicated that the original intention was to retain the section, the sources said.

But after it became evident that the former ports and transport workers' section secretary, Ronnie Pellegrini might want to come back, Mr Zarb resolved to reduce the number of sections so as to close the door for Mr Pellegrini, with whom he does not see eye to eye.

Mr Pellegrini had resigned his union post in October, 1999, citing as the reasons for his resignation "circumstances which he did not bring about himself".

"The leader has the duty to lead. In taking the tough but just decisions he has to take, the leader cannot be popular with everybody all the time," Mr Pellegrini had written.

The sources said that Mr Pellegrini's comments were "an obvious reference" to the way Mr Zarb was running the union.

To block Mr Pellegrini, Mr Zarb had already internally proposed that the workers represented by the telecommunications and energy workers' section would be shifted to the chemical workers' section, the professional staff association and the technology workers' section.

Although the motion for the dissolution of the telecommunications and energy workers' section will be proposed by Mr Zarb, Enemalta delegates are expected to oppose it, with the likely backing of other sections.

Another item on today's meeting agenda is one relating to the responsibilities of the general secretary.

Following the resignation of the deputy general secretary, Mario Cutajar, last July, union officials felt that the general secretary should no longer remain chairman of all the union's companies both because there were often conflicts of interest as well as because things were not going well with these companies

The GWU owns Ritescan, a print related company, Union Press, which publishes l-orizzont and other material, and Untours, a travel and insurance agency.

It is understood that there are often conflicts with decisions imposed from the top, such as when the cash-strapped l-orizzont was made to refuse paid adverts by the Malta-EU Information Centre. Another issue was the suspension of l-orizzont's editor, Frans Ghirxi, for failing to place on the front page a report about an activity in which Mr Zarb was involved.

Mr Zarb is himself expected to move a motion today that the general secretary should no longer be chairman of these companies.

The sources said Mr Zarb had bowed to the pressure on him to shed some of his responsibilities, but in the light of the new claims about his behaviour in Mr Coleiro's case, Mr Zarb is seen as having a lot to explain, and should reconsider his position.