The GWU has filed a court application for the revocation of a €1 million garnishee order issued in favour of Malta Freeport after industrial action ordered on Thursday.
The industrial action - a go slow and work to rule - was ordered by the GWU as it pressed for recognition as the trade union representing the port workers.
In its application, the GWU said it had an industrial dispute with Malta Freeport, and industrial action was covered by immunity granted to trade unions in terms of clauses 63 and 64 of the Employment and Industrial Relations Act.
The granting of the garnishee order was therefore not justified and should be revoked.
The GWU said it had no doubt that the Malta Freeport officials knew all this because they were not newcomers to trade union issues and had actually featured in the case Freeport Terminal (Malta) vs the UHM (in 1997) when the Appeals Court underlined trade union immunity in the context of an industrial dispute.
The purpose of the garnish order, therefore, was to harm the GWU and to influence the media, the GWU said.
Such warrants were usually granted by the court simply on the basis of a sworn declaration of the applicant. The freeport, therefore, knew that the GWU would suffer the consequences of the garnishee order before the actual issue of union immunity was considered by the court. It knew that damages would be caused to the union immediately and some time would elapse before the union could be granted a remedy.
UNION RECOGNITION ISSUE
The GWU in its application said Malta Freeport had granted recognition to a union representing the minority of the workers.
It said it had been approached by by a substantial number of port workers who had enrolled as members and handed in their resignation from the Malta Dockers' Union. They asked the GWU not to hand their resignations to the MDU because the MDU was also the employer of their children and they feared retaliation.
The union criticised the method of verification followed by the Director of Employment Relations and also pointed out how its own secret ballot had confirmed majority support.
The GWU said the secret ballot was the preferred verification method among trade unions and employers in other EU countries.
Furthermore, the verification by the Director of Employment Relations was not legally binding, but the Freeport had still decided to grant recognition to the MDU.
Without prejudice, the GWU said its go slow was only in force for a few hours and the garnishee order for €1 million was excessive and disproportionate.
The union said the garnishee order effectively meant that it could not operate and meet its financial obligations. Since Malta Freeport had chosen to be an instrument for the biggest union to close its doors, it was being requested to deposit €8 million as a guarantee for damages caused to the union while the case was before the court.