Is it any surprise that Labour is joining the General Workers' Union and a number of other unions in a protest they plan to hold in Valletta later this month over the latest rise in utility rates?
However much the union declares that its participation in the protest is not politically motivated, there is no doubt that that is exactly how many people see it. The country has gone through such political shenanigans so many times before that the real surprise would have been for the GWU and Labour not to take part in any such protest. It makes no difference who is organising the protest. The GWU gave the game away the moment it boycotted the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development meeting on the tariffs.
Actually, the union had good reason to feel irritated with the way the government treated the MCESD members over the issue. The council should have been brought into the matter before, not after, the tariffs were revised. Other unions felt as strongly as the GWU about this. In this respect, the government is seen to be faltering badly, which is quite surprising, considering the way it constantly trumpets its belief in dialogue and consultation.
Yet, the GWU was manifestly wrong in abdicating its duty towards its members.
No doubt, the union would protest at the accusation but that is exactly what it did when it chose to boycott the council meeting. The union is going even further than this as it has already threatened that the protest is only the first step in what could be a series of actions against the tariffs. As already remarked, most, if not all, of the other MCESD members would have probably felt as aggrieved as the GWU over the lack of timely consultation over the tariffs but none of them resorted to the union's antics. They made it a point to attend, as was their duty, to see how best they could help in the effort to ease the burden imposed by the new rates.
Even though they may not have come out of the council meeting entirely satisfied by the outcome, some headway appears to have been made. Maybe, the government would have to raise the amount allocated in its programme to help out firms strongly hit by the impact of the utility rates. Ideally, the government should have dismantled the subsidy at a slower pace than it is doing now, as suggested by The Times a number of times.
Labour, the GWU and all the other unions taking part in the protest may have their own ideas on how the government should have tackled the issue but simply taking to the streets and, in the case of the GWU, boycotting a purposely-called meeting, is unlikely to work.
Despite all the shortcomings the government has been showing over the past months, the undeniable fact is that it has at least shown a strong sense of direction. And, considering the stormy economic weather facing Malta from all fronts, the results are not all that bad, compared to the situation in so many other countries.
The unions' place is at the forefront of the drive to ward off difficulties and save their members' jobs. The GWU will have time to play politics later, when the weather is fine again. And the other unions in the group ought to be careful not to give the impression that they are being led by the nose.