Dismissal is one thing, resignation another

I would like to start by conveying my sympathy to Josephine Attard Sultana and add that, while I condemn without hesitation the way she was treated, at least in her case no physical violence was used, albeit moral and psychological violence was definitely meted out on her and her colleagues.

In an interview in another section of the press, the General Workers' Union's general secretary, Tony Zarb, was asked whether hers was the first case in which the GWU council removed anyone from one's post. Mr Zarb answered: "No, there were other cases when the council had taken similar decisions". He continued, as if to press his point, that "To mention one case, I mention that of Mike Seychell, secretary of the metal section (Tarznari)".

The general secretary of the GWU is evidently not aware of the facts regarding neither my termination of employment nor the position I had with his union at the time.

Starting with the position I held with the GWU, I was employed on full time basis as secretary of the metal section which at the time incorporated the Malta Drydocks industrial employees and those working in the metal industries on the island. It was only after my termination of employment that the metal section was split in two separate sections, one catering for the drydocks workers - hence (Tarznari) - and the other representing workers in the private metal industries.

With regard to my termination of employment, this came about after the men at the top of what was known as the Labour Movement, that is the Labour Party, considered to be the "political arm", and the GWU, referred to as the "industrial arm" of the movement, realised that my section was gathering enough support from the delegates to hinder Dom Mintoff's wish - rather command - that the MLP and the GWU should unite statutorily.

Further to the fusion of the Labour Movement, at the time my section had insisted that despite the general strike by the medical doctors there must always be a doctor in attendance at the drydocks in the interest of the workers. Unfortunately, at the time this was considered as supporting the medical doctors' union in its fight with the government.

(As a parenthesis, it is pertinent to point out that the late Tony Coleiro, who was also secretary of the drydocks section, had called on all workers at the drydocks to lay down their tools - strike - when the doctor on duty at the drydocks had to attend the law courts to give evidence in a particular case. Mr Coleiro's action was indeed an important certificate of how right we were to insist that there must be a doctor in attendance at the drydocks back in 1977.)

Going back to my termination of employment, a meeting of the metal section's executive was held on July 21, 1977 when a motion for a vote of confidence in the section secretary was approved unanimously, albeit three members had left the meeting before the vote was taken. Immediately this happened, the MLP was informed by Anglu Fenech, who was one of the members who had walked out before the vote was taken. He confessed to me himself years later that he had phoned the Freedom Press - the MLP headquarters at the time - to inform them of the approval of the vote of confidence. Within a few minutes, some 30 thugs arrived at the union's office and it was thanks to a union security man that I succeeded to escape.

I would like to add that the threat of violence directed at my family and myself at the time was so real that Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici had deemed it necessary to go to my home and take my wife with him to a safe place because he was afraid that the thugs had intended to go to my home. I came to know of this when Dr Mifsud Bonnici came to pick me up from the Valletta police station where I had sought protection and on the way to the "hiding place" he explained that he had already taken my family there.

Consequent to this incident I was advised that in the interest of both my family's and my own safety, the only option I had was to resign from employment because it was certain that the thugs will not allow me to go to my offices at the Workers' Memorial Building, in Valletta, and/or at the drydocks in Cospicua. In view of this, I was compelled to resign from employment with effect from July 21, 1977 - 10 days after the incident, as I knew at the time that neither my own employer - the GWU - nor the police were prepared to give me and my family the necessary protection. My resignation was followed by six metal section officials and members and three other council members from the textile section in my support.

My letter of resignation dated July 28 and the reply of acceptance by the then deputy general secretary, Vince Esposito, confirm that I was not sacked or removed by the general council of the GWU as Mr Zarb said but I was compelled to resign in order to save my skin and that of my family!

I end by stating that none of the administration officials nor any council member of the GWU ever asked me how I planned to maintain my family, which, apart from my wife and myself, included three children whose ages were between four and 10 years. That is how the GWU treated one of its highest officials during the Socialist regime.