GWU membership declines

The country's largest (but not politically independent) trade union is slowly but surely seeing its membership declining from year to year. Figures published in a report issued by the Registrar of Trade Unions show that the GWU has lost 1,092 members or 2.24 per cent of its membership between June 2001 and June this year. Other free and independent trade unions, like the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, showed a slight increase in their membership.

This is happening because the GWU itself, by its own actions, has lost its credibility with the workers in particular and the Maltese population in general. Very recent incidents have shown us beyond any doubt that the GWU was not telling the truth to its own delegates and members.

May I remind your readers of those 21 reports commissioned by the GWU itself, 19 of which all speak about the benefits that Malta would get if it were to join the European Union. These reports were kept away from the GWU delegates so that it could obtain a yes vote in its general conference and be able to adopt the same stand as the Malta Labour Party, which is against Malta joining the EU.

One of these hidden reports clearly shows that if we had to freeze our EU membership application once again, we will not be able to have access to both pre-accession as well as structural and cohesion funds for the years 2007-2013.

The latest publicity stunt was the now famous Hal Mann saga that turned out to be a "very rough joke" played on an employee by his colleagues. It has also turned out to be a "ridiculous joke" played on the GWU by whoever passed on to the union a fake "letter of dismissal".

No wonder the GWU has lost its credibility.

Editor's note: The figures of union membership for June this year and June 2001, which we carried in a news item last Sunday, were inadvertently transposed. For example, membership of the Malta Union of Teachers rose (and not declined) from 5,537 in June last year to 5,770 last June. The error is regretted.