UHM in turf war with GWU

The Union Haddiema Maghqudin yesterday lambasted the General Workers' Union following the distribution of a letter to Maltapost employees saying the GWU had asked for recognition because the majority of them were its members.

The UHM said the GWU was well aware it did not represent the majority of Maltapost workers.

The UHM described the GWU's attitude as very dangerous, especially as it came at a sensitive time when the UHM and the company were trying to finalise the collective agreement. "The GWU's action is very unethical and we cannot understand how the union preaches worker unity when speaking at the Trade Union Confederation but acts very differently locally," the UHM said.

Contacted for a reaction, GWU secretary general Tony Zarb said he wanted to see the full UHM statement before commenting.

The UHM later issued another statement saying Maltapost workers may take industrial action from Friday after the management failed to present "acceptable counterproposals". It said a conciliation meeting had made no progress on the issue.