Proof of an internal split, former top official says

The former deputy general secretary of the General Workers' Union, Emmanuel Micallef, said the removal of Josephine Attard Sultana by the national council showed that the union was not reforming itself to be able to afford the protection workers needed.

Ms Attard Sultana and Francis Buttigieg, secretary and president of the public service section respectively, were unceremoniously sacked from the GWU on Tuesday after the union's council approved a motion for their dismissal.

A series of events leading to their dismissal started on June 22 when a petition was circulated calling for Ms Attard Sultana's removal as section secretary through an extraordinary general meeting.

However, a judge last week upheld Ms Attard Sultana's request to stop the holding of the meeting, scheduled for last Monday. She argued that the 40 per cent quota of signatures required by the union's statute had not been reached.

The GWU central administration ousted the two section officials through a motion approved during a national council meeting, saying they had acted against the union's interests.

Speaking to The Times yesterday, Mr Micallef said Ms Attard Sultana joins "the long list of sacrificial lambs who were ousted not because they did anything against workers' interests but simply because they held on to their principles which they were not prepared to compromise.

"I left the union after losing a contest. I will not go into the details about the undercurrents and cross currents that prevailed at the time.

"But her removal yesterday shows that the internal changes that I was advocating so that the union adapted itself to today's labour market and to inspire credibility among the working population have not taken place.

"The message people are getting is that the union is driven by internal conflicts rather than the vision of its founder, Reggie Miller, who advocated that the union should act as a shelter for its members.

"It is very clear there is an internal split. The union will not find its feet and recover as long as such situations keep taking place.

"And this is a real pity. The majority of workers are asking: What's happening at the GWU?

"I still hope the truth will surface one day, but the union is praying too dear a price, and it could all have been avoided."

He recalled that during the contest for the post of general secretary last October, an anonymous leaflet was distributed featuring a picture of several union officials but Ms Attard Sultana, Karmenu Vella and Emanuel Zammit were circled and the leaflet said they were no longer wanted in the GWU.

"They were dubbed as my clique. It seems that what was anonymous is becoming official as it is happening.

People have been asking me who was next in line after I was voted out. Now they are asking me whose head will roll next," Mr Micallef said.

He said he was baffled why other section secretaries had not backed Ms Attard Sultana.

"The lack of solidarity between union officials really hurts me because any trade unionist has the principle of solidarity at heart. The union administration felt it was doing the right thing. But so did she. In court, Ms Attard Sultana established a principle that was a grey area in that now it has been determined that the union's sections have juridical interest. There was too much silence from the other section secretaries who also stood to gain from this," Mr Micallef said.

Industrial relations consultants contacted by The Times expressed surprise at the summary proceedings through which a union employee was sacked.

"Had a member of the GWU employed in the public sector been sacked in this way, lo and behold the union would have unleashed its wrath. We'd probably have threats of strike action across the board. But it seems the union can preach one thing and do another," one said.

The consultants said they never heard of proceedings leading to the loss of a job where employees are not presented with charges and given the opportunity to defend themselves.

The consultants also raised eyebrows about why the Police Commissioner called Ms Attard Sultana and asked her to leave the office. "Whenever employers had problems getting a dismissed employee out of their premises, the police always said it was a civil matter and they had nothing to do with it. So why did the police act differently this time?"

The GWU said last night the administration had a petition signed by 40 per cent of the delegates of the public services section insisting that the national council's decision had been taken democratically through a secret ballot.

The GWU denied that delegates who signed the petition wanted to remove their names. "The central administration has letters from delegates declaring they stand by the petition, despite the pressure they came under from the section's executive to remove their names," the GWU said.

Asked what he had to say about Ms Attard Sultana's dismissal, Opposition Leader Alfred Sant said he would not discuss "internal affairs of the union".