The president of the Malta Union of Teachers, John Bencini, argues that trade unions today need to be proactive, positive and primarily professional in their attitude when dealing with their employers, without forgetting their role of safeguarding their members' rights.
Asked about how unions could finance themselves, Mr Bencini said a modern union could not survive on membership fees if it really wanted to keep abreast of what was taking place in other countries, particularly those in the EU.
"International participation and taking an active role in various seminars and conferences abroad is a must and this means that a union has to be sound financially. The Tripartite Committee of the Malta-EU Information Centre has for the past few years allocated just Lm4,000 a year to cover activities related to EU familiarisation. The sum is definitely inadequate."
Asked about trade union rivalry, Mr Bencini said it was regrettable that trade unions were still fighting among themselves and disagreeing in public.
"Sometimes mudslinging is the order of the day. The MUT has condemned these malpractices and has insisted on adherence to trade union ethics. Hopefully this negative attitude will change. Over the past few months the MUT has been trying to bring about reconciliation and has been instrumental in bringing all the unions together for a series of meetings to discuss the social pact.
"Unions do not have to agree on all issues and they have a right to their diversity. However, where national issues are concerned, workers expect unions to be as one.
"Yet, even though we have made considerable progress recently, the TUC is still a dream. I hope I am wrong. Unfortunately, there are still a good number of union members who expect their union to continue to be tied to political parties even though most unions deny it.
"The MUT code of rules clearly states that 'the MUT shall be totally independent of all political parties and/or movements'. I can honestly say that when my union holds meetings for its members, their political allegiances do not influence or set the agenda.
"As far as trade unions are concerned, as in any other sector, gone are the days of amateurism. Unions should be proactive, positive and responsible and they should not wait for the government or employers to set the agenda.
"Unions need full-time professional personnel who have preferably undergone various courses in trade union matters and negotiating skills.
"The MUT's main objective is to raise the teaching profession to that level of dignity and comfort to which it is entitled and to strive to maintain that high status.
"The MUT is also a professional union and thus expects all teachers to do their utmost to continue to improve their teaching skills in order to give the best possible education to the younger generation."
GWU - 'no political ties'
Trade unions have to realise that in this day and age, changes and sacrifices have to be made, but most of the burden should not be carried by the workers alone, according to General Workers' Union secretary general Tony Zarb.
Mr Zarb believes that although the attitude of trade unions towards each other is changing, and in spite of efforts that have been made to bring the unions closer together, more needs to be done.
"The GWU was itself a protagonist in bringing unions together. Other unions have made similar attempts and we are nearer than ever to setting up a Trade Unions Council, but there needs to be a change in the culture and mentality of some unions so that we will be able to understand each other better," Mr Zarb said.
"There are many issues on which unions could be working together and divisiveness between trade unions in these areas does not help," he said.
Asked about political ties, Mr Zarb said the union was a leftist one but had no ties with political parties.
"We are ready to work with any organisation or party that seriously believes in workers' rights, progress and social justice. After all it was the workers who brought this country forward."
In its internal meetings, he said, the union discusses issues that are of concern to its members and partisan issues are left outside.
He believes diversity in the trade union movement is a good thing but the existence of small unions leads to more fragmentation.
"The history of house unions shows that most were short-lived and few are those that have adequate resources. Some are doing their utmost to carry out their trade union duties. But the work of trade unions has become more demanding and difficult and unless a union is professional, it will not be able to survive," Mr Zarb said.
Asked whether unions could survive on membership fees alone, Mr Zarb said the fees were an important source of revenue, although local membership fees were cheap compared to those abroad.
"But a union has to have other forms of income. Members may be lost because of redundancies. The GWU employs 65 full-timers and we have to pay their wages and meet the costs of all the other services we offer as a union," Mr Zarb said.
UHM - an 'independent' union
Gejtu Vella, the secretary general of the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, says unions have to be prepared to work harder because as soon as challenges are met, new ones emerge.
"While anticipating and managing change is necessary, at the moment securing new forms of jobs through worker employability is of the utmost importance," Mr Vella said.
The UHM survives only on membership fees and receives no particular help from the government.
Asked about the prospects of setting up a Trade Unions Council, which would boost the possibility of unions working together, Mr Vella said the UHM was in favour of the idea.
"However, the UHM will need to make clear its stand whenever we are taken to task. The lack of agreement on certain issues between trade unions is no big secret. What is divisive is that political parties try to get political mileage out of these situations...
"We have always been an independent trade union, even if a section of the media tries to label us as supporting a particular political party. We take on board policies which are of benefit to the workers irrespective of where they come from. On the other hand, being independent does not mean that we will resort to the same number of hours of industrial action under successive governments, just to be seen as balanced.
"The political creed of workers is of no interest to the UHM. It is sad that in this small island of ours we have to paint everything in colours red, blue or green, before we appreciate that no party will earn us a living unless we work hard for it. Workers should start realising that they should not support political parties more than they do their unions," Mr Vella said.
Mr Vella feels that a larger union can be more effective: "The UHM has seven different sections serving different categories of workers. All sections work independently of each another but under the umbrella of a general union. In case of industrial strife, however, the smallest groups receive the support of all the members of the union. A large union will thus serve the workers more effectively when the going gets tough."
Mr Vella thinks that unions should set the agenda and participate in meaningful social dialogue. "Such dialogue has emerged as a cornerstone for economic growth in various countries and the UHM has, over the years, emulated success stories by seeking advice from various foreign and local experts in various fields. Only in this manner can the UHM fulfil its obligations towards its members and society in general," Mr Vella said.