Opposition leader Simon Busuttil this morning challenged the Prime Minister to intervene and stop the abuse of a public contract by the General Workers' Union.

Speaking in Qormi, Dr Busuttil referred to a contract that the GWU signed with the government in which it was given the land for the Workers Memorial Building (its headquarters) on condition that it did not sub-lease any of it to third parties.

However, the GWU, which was paying just €800 a year for the building, was receiving €300,000 over five years for leasing part of the property to Arms Ltd, a state company.

“This is in breach of the contract that if the Prime Minister iis serious, he should intervene and stop this blatant abuse. This is scandalous,” Dr Busuttil said.

The GWU’s abuse was even more scandalous as the lease was concluded with a government entity, Dr Busuttil said.

Dr Busuttil, who this morning toured various areas in Qormi as part of the council's election campaign, also visited a parcel of land close to a sports and recreation area, which was passed on to the Malta Sports Council to develop into an extension of the sport facilities.

He said that, so far, nothing had been done and the area had been turned into a dumping ground.

Dr Busuttil said that while the Malta Sports Council had no problem to find the money to employ a full-time driver for its part-time chairman (Labour MP Luciano Busuttil) it had no funds to turn the land into a new recreational area for the benefit of Qormi residents.

He said that this is an example of where the Labour government’s priorities are.