Two judges yesterday almost simultaneously rejected and upheld two injunction applications in a squabble between two unions over which of them represented the majority of route bus drivers.
Mr Justice Silvio Meli threw out a request by the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin to stop Malta Public Transport (Operations) Limited from negotiating a new collective agreement for drivers with the General Workers’ Union.
The judge ruled the union had failed to justify the need of the injunction it sought, adding that the justifications provided for at law had not been satisfied.
The UĦM filed its application for an injunction last month claiming that the absolute majority of bus drivers formerly employed by Arriva had joined it.
However, the GWU insisted it still enjoyed the support of the majority of bus drivers.
The two unions disagreed on which of them enjoyed sole recognition so the UĦM thought it should stop the negotiations on the new collective agreement until the issue was settled.
Buses operator got caught in the unions’ squabble
The matter was referred to the Industrial Tribunal, which then referred it to the unions watchdog, leading the GWU to ask for the verification process to be halted.
A court temporarily upheld the request and a final decision is pending.
The buses operator told the court it made no difference to them which of the two unions came to the negotiating table, pointing out that it got caught in the squabble between the two major unions. The verification process could take very long and there was a possibility that the impasse could be indefinite.
It pointed out that in past similar cases, talks continued with the union that had enjoyed sole recognition before the impasse surfaced.
Without going into the merits, Mr Justice Meli ruled that the question of recognition could not be assumed, more so because of the pending verification process. He concluded that the UĦM had not managed to justify the need for an injunction and turned it down.
The decision on the verification process was made by Madam Justice Edwina Grima who found that the Industrial Tribunal exceeded its powers when it ordered to stop the verification process.
The GWU said the two court decisions were two victories for public transport employees and the union.