The General Workers Union said today that it is calling on the Malta Maritime Authority, the Director of Industrial Relations and the port operating companies to recognise it as the union representing port workers following a ballot held last Friday.

General Secretary Tony Zarb told a press conference this morning that the ballot, commissioned by the GWU and run by a law firm, found that 53% of all port workers, and 82% of those who voted, backed the GWU. There are a total of 366 registered port workers, of whom 236 voted and 194 voted for the GWU.

Mr Zarb criticised the way how the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations is seeking to verify the situation, saying the method it had proposed would not be secret and could expose the workers to retaliation.

"The GWU is very worried about the way how the Department of Employment and International Relations is being run, and it is seeking a meeting with Social Policy John Dalli in the hope that this industrial dispute does not escalate further," Mr Zarb said.

Mr Zarb said the GWU has also written to the European Transport Workers' Federation and the Industrial Transport Workers' Federation to inform them of the situation, and they gave it their backing.