Trade unionist John Bencini has resigned as president of the Forum Unions Maltin as affiliates criticised his participation in an activity organised by a Labour candidate.

I went there to discuss education, which is my field as a teacher

Although Mr Bencini insisted that he had not stepped down because of this, sources said that his participation in the activity on education was deemed to be “unacceptable”.

The sources added that some of Forum’s affiliates had internally expressed disappointment at certain remarks Mr Bencini made in his capacity as Forum president on Labour’s energy proposals.

The meeting he participated in was held on Tuesday at Ir-Razzett l-Antik, Qormi and was organised by Labour candidate Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.

The sources said Mr Bencini breached the confederation’s statute that clearly barred members from taking part in partisan activities.

While saying that his resignation had been planned and was not linked to the activity, Mr Bencini insisted he had not breached any statute.

“I intended to resign on December 31 (2012) but Paul Pace asked me to reconsider. I waited a few days and submitted my resignation with immediate effect. I attended the event, which was on education, and other speakers included Carmel Borg from the University and a teacher.

“I went there to discuss education, which is my field as a teacher and a former president of the Malta Union of Teachers. I accepted because the plan was for me to step down,” Mr Bencini said when contacted.

He said he had delayed his resignation till the end of this month because he was meant to represent Forum at a conference abroad and because Mr Pace, the general secretary, had asked him to reconsider.

At the same time, he felt it would have been unfair to cancel the commitment he had given the person from Dr Coleiro Preca’s office who organised the discussion.

“We did not discuss politics or how a party’s policy on education is better than the other’s. We discussed the situation in education,” he said, adding that former and present trade union members attended political events regularly.

When contacted, Mr Pace said Mr Bencini’s resignation was “not officially” linked to his participation at this event, although he said it came following Mr Bencini’s participation in political activities, in breach of the statute.

Mr Bencini has been involved in trade unionism for 35 years and spent 15 years as MUT president.

He headed Forum since 2009, when the group left the Confederation of Maltese Trade Union to become a stand-alone organisation.

In a statement, the Forum council thanked Mr Bencini for his dedication towards the welfare and benefit of workers represented by the affiliated unions.

It published Mr Bencini’s resignation letter, dated December 29, in which he said that, “after careful consideration”, he felt it was time for him to step down to make space for new blood.

The council said that during his tenure as president, Forum became a member of the European Trade Union Confederation, the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, the Malta-EU Steering Action Committee, the Employment Regulations Board and the Centre for Labour Studies.

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