How should trade union membership be established? Payment of membership fee is generally taken as proof of membership but the issue does not seem to be always that clear, especially in cases where conflicting claims are made. The matter lies at the heart of a tussle between two unions that both claim majority representation of the port workers.

Two years ago, port workers left the General Workers' Union in a much publicised move to form their own trade union, the Malta Dockers' Union. However, the GWU fought back to win majority support again and it is today holding a secret ballot to convincingly establish to which of the two unions the workers want to belong and, therefore, represent their interests.

But the Malta Dockers' Union is objecting to the holding of the secret ballot, arguing it goes against the remit of the employment and industrial relations law. It has said it would not respect the outcome of the ballot, arguing it had placed its membership records at the disposal of the Director of Employment and Industrial Relations who could well verify for himself which of the two unions had majority support.

This would appear to be a sound argument since paid-up membership fees ought to establish the correct membership figure. But what if members choose to have dual membership? This would pose a tricky issue but only if it were to be established that there are in fact port workers who are members of both unions. Are there? Only the industrial relations director can clarify this as he is supposed to have updated membership records.

To what extent the unions' membership records are reliable is another very important issue. On its part, the dockers' union is insisting it has 327 paid-up members out of the 370 licensed port workers.

According to reports, the industrial relations director appears to be in favour of interviewing the dock workers individually to establish their union preference. In the light of the controversy over the membership records, this, too, would appear to be a reasonable way out of the impasse, but the GWU has objected to the move, preferring the holding of a secret ballot. But the dockers' union has cried foul, holding that the GWU's preferred method of establishing membership is irregular. It has even turned down an invitation for one of its members to follow the voting process.

The Malta Maritime Authority has told the GWU that, according to its official list of licensed port workers, the dockers' union was still the larger of the two unions at the dock. The Malta Freeport Terminals is also said to have turned down a GWU claim for recognition, arguing that its documentation did not support the claims made by the union. Irrespective of the stand taken by the dockers' union, it goes without saying that the outcome of the secret ballot could hardly be ignored. But would it be officially recognised?

In a way, the case reflects the sad state of the trade union movement today, split as it is following the petty squabbles that had arisen after their collective action over the revision of the energy tariffs. A move that many thought could lead to a stronger trade union movement had in fact led to further disintegration. But the GWU-Malta Dockers' Union case also highlights badly needed examination of existing procedures governing membership and recognition to remove ambiguity and, as much as possible, sources of disputes among unions and between unions and employers.