GWU accused of breaching data protection law

The Malta Dockers' Union yesterday accused the General Workers' Union of breaching the Data Protection Act by sending letters to employees who were no longer its members.

The charge comes a few days after the MDU accused the GWU of harassing workers into paying their membership dues despite having resigned more than three years ago.

In a second letter to Employment and Industrial Relations director Noel Vella, MDU president Joe Saliba said those workers who resigned from the GWU had received a letter in recent days asking them to pay their membership dues.

Mr Saliba said the letters amounted to "abuse, poaching and harassment" of port workers.

He also said they revealed the way the GWU was keeping records of workers still listed on its books despite resigning in August 2006.

Mr Saliba asked Dr Vella to stop the GWU from sending such letters and to analyse that union's records so that MDU members would be struck off the GWU's books. In another letter to Dr Vella yesterday, Mr Saliba said he was unhappy the union had received no reply to its first message. The letter was also sent to Data Protection Commissioner Joseph Ebejer.

The allegations have been denied by GWU general secretary Tony Zarb who said letters were only being sent to its own members, as was standard practice.

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