First among equals

Contrary to what Tony Zarb laments, no one is against the General Workers Union per se. The majority are neutral, others are vehemently against its militant and anachronistic methods, others still are so much in favour that they will continue treating it as a "privileged" partner.

What the latter entity fails to realise is that if one particular union receives preferential treatment other unions are automatically discriminated against. Unavoidably this leads to a situation where the advantaged workers, represented by the "superior" union, will benefit from a special treatment to the detriment of the disadvantaged workers. On a wider dimension, this in turn will affect families and the nation as a whole.

The so-called underprivileged unions have aired their protests. The General Workers' Union has not uttered a word but its silence speaks volumes. So much for its independence! So much for its democratic beliefs of equality!

What Austin Gatt professes regarding subsidies to inefficient operations can aptly be applied here too: "There cannot be any sacred cows, whether it is the Drydocks or taxi drivers, whether it is Sea Malta or the bus drivers, whether it is Cargo Handling or the port workers". And yet the Malta Labour Party is proposing the complete opposite, recreating class divisions between citizens. We have been awarded a choice. We will be privileged only if we support the leftist movement. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel as we have been reassured that: "The fact that the GWU is a privileged partner does not mean that we will not be working with anyone else" - forever grateful, yours truly!

A healthy nation thrives on unity and consensus and I wholeheartedly agree with Mr Zarb's slogan that united we stand, divided we fall. The pity is that he applies this wise recycled motto solely to his little world and not to Malta at large.

It has been said over and over again that Malta has to change its mentality, its processes and its vision for the future if it is to survive. There is consensus that the social partners and constituted bodies have to forget sectarian interests and have the courage to say no to their members or voters should they refuse to face up to unpleasant realities. The editorial of one of the English dailies summed up Malta's needs into one phrase: three Cs: consensus, caution and change.

A survey carried out by The Times showed a total of 86.3 per cent of respondents saying it was time for a change in the GWU's direction. Mr Zarb himself is reported to have admitted that the union was at a crossroads. The choice between him and Emmanuel Micallef would depend on who was militant or moderate, he had said. Excuse me, but if, in the national interest, one is facing various ways forward, why insist on retracing one's steps in the opposite direction?

The GWU boasts that the election was a democratic one. The delegates voted freely and the militants made a clean sweep with Mr Zarb netting over 80 per cent of the valid votes cast.

That may be so, but as Mr Micallef put it, he was "disgusted with the low, dirty, personal campaign waged against him". Is it true that flyers distributed to delegates and affixed to windscreens accused him of splitting the union into two? Is it true that he was being labelled incompetent? (If he was it doesn't say much about his boss's leadership skills, does it?) The last-minute lobbying for a block vote to eliminate Mr Micallef and his "clique" all contributed to the inevitable outcome. Not a very fair contest I would say. Mr Micallef's comment summarises it all: "Once again we had an attack on the messenger not on the message".

His message in fact must have been quite a thorn in the GWU's side when he expressed what he really felt about his union. He did not mince words: It was "crumbling" and needed a change in direction as it had become stagnant. He complained that there was "no space for new ideas and new blood; membership is down; finances are not as strong as they used to be, the union is not as proactive, the credibility it used to enjoy among the people has dwindled, the urge for workers to join the GWU has waned..."

And yet, this troubling status quo will enjoy all the blessings bestowed exclusively upon it by a Labour government.