'Calls for new union'

Calls for a new independent trade union are growing as the General Workers' Union "drives itself into a brick wall", former GWU assistant secretary general Emanuel Micallef claimed yesterday.

Mr Micallef told The Times he had been approached by several house unions and their members who wanted to see him steering a new workers' movement.

"I hate management by crisis and I prefer to examine the situation. However, at this moment in time, I'm not interested in taking such initiatives," Mr Micallef said.

The GWU made the headlines after nine members of the executive committee of the union's public service section resigned en bloc in the wake of the dismissal of former section secretary Josephine Attard Sultana and section president Francis Buttigieg on Tuesday.

Mr Micallef, who was defeated in the race for the post of GWU general secretary last October, believes more heads will roll.

Writing in the union's newspaper, l-Orizzont, both GWU president Salvu Sammut and assistant general secretary Gejtu Mercieca indicated that other officials need to be weeded out, he said.

Contrary to statements by GWU boss Tony Zarb, who has rejected any hint of a union split, Mr Micallef said the split was now out in the open.

"The problem hinges on the leadership of the union which refuses to move ahead with the times. At the moment the GWU is unstable and not credible," he said.

Even members at grassroots level were realising that something was wrong with the union, he said.

One of the problems of the GWU's leaders is that anybody coming up with constructive criticism is branded a Nationalist Party sympathiser, Mr Micallef argued. Ultimately, the top brass failed to realise that their antics were harming even the Labour Party.

Though members had to abide by the GWU's policies, Mr Micallef insisted that the statute allows the sections full autonomy and delegates have vested powers to take decisions.

Mr Micallef challenged Mr Zarb's claim that the GWU had some 47,000 members, saying that in reality it had around 25,000 members though he admitted it would be hard to confirm the exact figure.

Asked to respond to claims that he had a grudge against the union because he had lost the contest for the top GWU post, Mr Micallef replied: "I respect the delegates' decision and I also chose not to contest the dirty campaign waged against me. Ultimately I want the union to have vision and direction, to be at the forefront of national issues. I want the best for the union."

The GWU was failing to understand that youths were nowadays reluctant to join a union.

"Ultimately the GWU is seriously ill - with declining membership, falling income and a lack of credibility," Mr Micallef said.

Industrial sociologist Edward Zammit described Ms Attard Sultana's dismissal as a very sad event, considering her trade union expertise.

Prof. Zammit said it was too early, however, to say whether the recent events have dented the GWU's credibility especially since he believes that certain issues have yet to come out in the open.

What was clear, however, was that events like the drydocks' and the public sector's downsizing had weakened the GWU's muscle.

Still, he does not see the space for another major trade union considering the size of the GWU, the Union Haddiema Maghqudin and the affiliates within the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions.

Sometimes unions use inflammatory language just for the members' sake, but the rate of strikes in Malta is comparable to that in other European countries, Prof. Zammit said.

In the meantime, Mr Zarb made clarifications in connection with his interview with The Times on Wednesday.

Clause 9 of the union's statute lays down that the national council has the power to suspend or lay off any committee member or official if the council feels his behaviour breaches the interests of the union.

It is clause 46 of the statute which makes reference to the fact that a petition from 40 per cent of section delegates may force an extraordinary general meeting, Mr Zarb explained.