President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca will be bringing all trade unions together in a bid to create a national focal point for dialogue between them.
The Forum Nazzjonali tat-Trade Unions (FNTU) will be offering a platform for the free exchange of ideas and discussion on issues such as occupational health and safety, threats of unemployment, active ageing, precarious work and bullying on the workplace.
The President has roped in the expertise offered by the Centre for Labour Studies (CLS) at the University of Malta.
CLS board chairman Godfrey Baldacchino said the initiative has been endorsed by all 31 registered trade unions.
“The outcome of the actions of the Forum are anyone’s guess,” he told Times of Malta.
“If the initiative is owned by the trade unions, then they can run with it, in the context of the agreed guidelines.
“To me, the very simple fact that all, or most, trade union officials and/or their members may be participating in similar initiatives is already a very welcome development.
“Why should concerted trade union action in this country grab the media headlines? Worker education and training is a powerful tool for better facing the many challenges of the contemporary workplace.”
Trade unions, Prof. Baldacc-hino continued, could learn a lot from each other. The CLS could also throw in its 30-year track record in this area to offer expertise and organisational support.
The outcome of the actions of the Forum are anyone’s guess
Trade unions in Malta are currently organised as three distinct bodies: the General Workers’ Union (the largest trade union, with its affiliate sections); the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions (of which the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin, with its own sections, is the largest member); and the Forum Unions Maltin (of which the Malta Union of Teachers is the largest member).
The unions, Prof. Baldacchino said, were involved in many formal and informal events and institutions, including the The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development and budget consultations.
However, their educational and training programmes were usually in-house. The new Forum hopes to add a new dimension for cooperative learning, perhaps even creating a safe space for building trust and mutual understanding, he said.