A confederation representing 11 unions has complained it will be missing today’s urgent Malta Council for Economic and Social Development meeting on Libya because it does not yet have a seat on this body.

Forum said it had not been invited to attend the meeting because its requests for a seat had fallen on deaf ears. The MCESD, said Forum’s general secretary, Paul Pace, was pursuing a policy of exclusivity and exclusiveness.

The government has always maintained that it has no objection to Forum joining the MCESD but its membership had to be unanimously agreed upon by all the social partners and six of the seven members are against any changes to its present composition.

The only organisation in favour is the General Workers’ Union, which wants five representatives each from unions, employers and civil society, doing away with the government’s representation.Mr Pace said Forum was being muzzled because the government preferred leaving 12,000 workers without representation on the government-union-employer body.

He said Air Malta’s decision to restart flights to Tripoli would affect pilots, cabin crew and engineers, all members of Forum. But despite this, Forum was not being allowed to express its opinions or give a contribution at MCESD level.