The General Workers’ Union is urging bank employees to resign from the union they form part of and join it instead “because a new government is in place”, The Times has learnt. Reports were received from employees at Bank of Valletta and Church-owned APS Bank.
Employees who contacted The Times said they had been approached by the GWU in the past but the union stepped up its efforts after the March 9 general election.
They said they were told that now that a Labour Government was in place, the GWU was more in a position to guarantee improved working conditions and salaries.
The Times is also informed that the workers approached are being given a template resignation letter encouraging them to resign from their union and join the GWU.
When contacted, the president of the Malta Union of Bank Employees, William Portelli, confirmed that the union had received several reports to this effect.
He condemned the “the scathing attack that the GWU has launched on the union”.
“The GWU’s actions are a vicious act against solidarity between unions and the trade union movement in general. MUBE has worked hard over the years to get to such a commanding position and the attack on the union is senseless and detrimental to all stakeholders involved,” he said.
Mr Portelli confirmed that the union was receiving reports that GWU officials or representatives were telling employees at Bank of Valletta and other banks “that they should now join their union because there has been a change in government”.
“MUBE has absolutely no issues working with the new government and intends meeting Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and other ministers in line with internal policy,” he said.
“I am extremely disappointed that the GWU has resorted to such disruptive and cheap tactics against an independent, professional and neutral banking, finance and insurance union, which is working relentlessly to improve and ameliorate working conditions in the sector,” Mr Portelli said. Mr Portelli added that it was “too much of a coincidence” that the GWU stepped up its action at a time when the MUBE had started negotiations on a new collective agreements at various banking and insurance companies.
“These actions by the GWU are causing disruption in the working environment and surely do not promote workforce unity within the company,” he said.
For GWU general secretary Tony Zarb it is “normal” that the GWU approaches workers who are not its members to encourage them to join the GWU. This was part of its drive to increase membership, he said.
He said he could not confirm that union officials or representatives were using the election of a Labour Government as leverage to increase membership and promised to investigate.
The promise of a stronger arm if Labour were in power was raised during the electoral campaign when Mr Zarb was secretly recorded saying he would be able to assist a company with tenders, particularly under a Labour Government, should his employees join the GWU.
The recording was taken at a June lunch meeting between Mr Zarb and cleaning contractor Dominic Gafà.
Mr Zarb contends the meeting was held to discuss precarious working conditions that Mr Gafà was imposing on his employees and that his suggestion was that the GWU would give the company good references if it treated its employees well.
He argued that this would indeed be the case under a Labour Government because the party had vowed to discriminate against companies who employed people with precarious conditions.
The other two people present for the lunch meeting were company consultant Michael Ferry and former GWU assistant general secretary, Geitu Mercieca, who organised the meeting at a Marsascala restaurant.