MDU members confirm they resigned from GWU

A number of port workers have informed the General Workers' Union they had resigned three years ago following a letter they recently received from the GWU urging them to pay their membership dues.

Malta Dockers' Union president Joe Saliba confirmed that several port workers who are its members had received a letter from GWU financial controller Robert Borg asking them to pay up. He said this showed the GWU still kept these people on its records.

In a letter sent to Employment and Industrial Relations director Noel Vella last week, Mr Saliba said the letters amounted to "abuse, poaching and harassment" of port workers.

In his first reaction, GWU general secretary Tony Zarb said letters were only being sent to its members, as was standard practice. But Mr Saliba said this was untrue as MDU members had received this letter.

The two unions have been at loggerheads since more than 300 port workers resigned from the GWU in 2006. More recently, the two unions were engaged in a tug-of-war over recognition as the port workers' representative, with both saying they enjoyed a majority.

Following the intervention of Social Policy Minister John Dalli, both unions are now waiting to be summoned to another meeting to establish which of the two enjoys the support of the majority of port workers.

Meanwhile, the MDU executive committee has filed two libel suits against GWU officials over comments they made in two articles published in the union's daily newspaper l-Orizzont.

The first libel suit was filed against GWU deputy general secretary Gejtu Mercieca who claimed that people were not being employed at Malta Freeport unless they were MDU members.

The second suit was filed against GWU maritime and aviation section secretary Charles Agius, who claimed that those who belonged to the inner circle were favoured during the June 2007 reform at the Freeport.