Malta Employers Association president Arthur Muscat revealed some worrying news when he addressed the association’s recent annual general meeting.
He said rivalry and “outright animosity” between trade unions was having an impact on employers.
Disputes seem to be cropping up where there is more than one union representing workers at a company.
The situation was different in the past. A number of trade unions in this country have always been great grandstanders, performing for the benefit of their members with what can only be described as ‘bluster’. They threaten, draw lines in the sand and reduce complex issues to marching slogans.
The reality is, however, that once those very same union officials are behind closed doors with the management, they are transformed in Jekyll and Hyde fashion into reasonable, pragmatic and flexible negotiators.
It seemed to work. The newspapers got sensational headlines, the workers got their fix of self-righteousness, the unions got their 15 minutes of fame and the employers shook their heads with wry amusement. But, at the end of the day, the collective agreement was hammered out responsibly, line by line.
Everyone concerned knows that short-term gains undermine long-term competitiveness and the fact that we survived the global meltdown relatively unscathed is proof that sense often prevailed.
The number of strikes has also been falling slowly but surely. In 2005 and 2006, there were eight industrial disputes but only 1,341 and 2,935 workings days respectively were lost.
In 2009, there were just three but because one of these involved thousands of teachers, it meant 7,595 working days were lost. Since then, the situation improved even further. There were no strikes in 2010, three in 2011, two in 2012 and none in 2013. So what prompted Mr Muscat’s concern?
He did not give examples but some cases are already in the public domain.
The General Workers’ Union is insisting that it has more members than the Malta Union of Bank Employees at Bank of Valletta; there is a similar industrial dispute at Middlesea; and the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin is carving out membership at Multigas.
This only matters because this turf war is having a very negative impact on negotiations, especially of collective agreements, which, in most places, are subject to a vote by employees.
What prompted it?
Well, just as there are more floating voters in a political sense, there are now also floating voters in a trade union sense. More employees are willing to ditch a union in favour of another if they feel they would be able to negotiate harder on their behalf.
This means that the pragmatic approach of the past is being ditched in a desperate bid to retain or grow membership. Whereas in the past the union negotiator would hammer out the best possible package, they are now aware that the rival unions may be stirring up workers by claiming that they could have done better. And it is counter-productive. The employers will not give the best offer but hold out knowing that if the issue gets mired in trade union rivalry, sooner or later they will have to go back to the table, and give something more.
There are 91,576 members in 31 trade unions, a figure open to interpretation but which is a very high one compared to the total workforce.
The trade union leaders need to stop and ask why they have allowed a healthy situation benefitting all stakeholders to degenerate into a playground squabble. And to remind themselves that the ultimate losers will be the employees.