Nine officials resign from GWU

Nine members of the executive committee of the GWU's public service section are resigning en bloc in solidarity with former section secretary Josephine Attard Sultana and its president Francis Buttigieg, who were sacked by the union last week.

Vice-president Saviour Frendo, assistant secretaries Andrew Howard and Mary Rose Mifsud as well as members Joe Attard, Lawrence Darmanin, Paul Mizzi, Ottiglia Terribile, Jeremy Camilleri and Sandro Portelli are leaving all the posts they may hold within the union. Delegates Joe Brincat and Charlie Attard are joining them.

This means there will now be only four members left on the committee.

The mass defection was announced yesterday during a press conference held by Ms Attard Sultana. Formal notice of the resignations had not yet been sent to the union but they will take effect as of yesterday.

Ms Attard Sultana and Mr Buttigieg were relieved of their duties by the union's executive council after the council accepted a motion moved by the central administration saying their behaviour went against the union's interests. This followed successful court action by Ms Attard Sultana to stop an extraordinary general meeting of her section.

Ms Attard Sultana yesterday told the press she intended to appeal her dismissal, as was her right. The appeal would be heard by people from outside the union chosen by the union's administration.

Asked if she had confidence in the appeal process, Ms Attard Sultana replied only: "That is an interesting question."

Mr Buttigieg said he had not yet received a notice of termination. "I have been dismissed from the comfort and support of my second mother. I would have been a member of the union for 40 years next February," he remarked.

Both said they were preparing a dossier on their dismissal to be submitted to international fora where the GWU is represented, namely Public Service International, the European Trade Union Council, the International Confederation of Trade Unions and the European Federation of Public Service Unions.

Ms Attard Sultana said that throughout the saga leading up to their dismissal, she and Mr Buttigieg had worked within union structures, following procedures and the statute to the letter.

It was only when the union's internal procedures were being ignored by the administration that she turned to the courts for protection.

Moreover, before being dismissed, she and Mr Buttigieg had continuously sought permission to issue statements and hold a news conference but it was refused, even though the administration was giving its own version of events.

Mr Buttigieg claimed that a commission set up to examine the validity of signatories in a petition calling for the replacement of Ms Attard Sultana had been stopped from doing its work by union general secretary Tony Zarb after only a day and a half.

Ms Attard Sultana said that by the time the commission had started its work a number of delegates had already contacted the section to check if their name was included in the petition, saying they had not signed it.

Others wanted their name removed as soon as they understood what their signature meant. And some said they had signed in November and now that their situation had changed they no longer wanted to have anything to do with the petition.

Referring to statements by Mr Zarb that the union was not at war with her, she said: "What is dismissal: is it a sign of peace? If this is not war, is it a sign of gratitude for what we have done along the years?"

Several mediation efforts had been made between Ms Attard Sultana and the central administration by among others, a former union secretary general, but to no avail, she said.

The union's central administration was using the national council as "big brother" with overriding powers over section secretaries, executives and delegates.

No section secretary, she said, would accept that an employer sacked his workers simply because the employer claimed, without offering justification, that the employee was working against the interests of the company.

"Which secretary would accept an employer as judge and jury? Is this militancy?" It was unheard of for someone to be dismissed from a union for pursuing one's rights as well as the rights of the section she represented. "We were paid back for defending the autonomy of the section and because I defended my union job."

She said that membership in her section had increased by 400 since October.

Asked if they were considering other ways of representing the section's members, Ms Attard Sultana replied: "Who knows? It all depends on how things develop."

Asked what the resignation of the nine executive committee members meant for the union, Mr Zarb yesterday said resignation was a personal choice of members. "I cannot stop them from resigning."

Asked whether it reflected a split within the union, despite his previous denials of one, Mr Zarb said only that it was not the first time there had been resignations from the union. He said that a call would now be issued for the vacant posts to be filled.

Asked why he had stopped the investigative commission set up to examine the validity of signatures only a day and a half after it had started its work, Mr Zarb said Mr Buttigieg knew exactly why the commission had been stopped.