(Adds Ministry's reply)

The selection of chairpersons of the Industrial Tribunal is heavily skewed in favour of persons who have or had connections with the General Workers' Union, the Malta Employers' Association insists.

It said in a statement that six of 11n chairpersons have been employed at the GWU, or were closely related to GWU officials.

"There can be no denying that employers are under represented and that one particular union has a dominant position in the composition of the team of industrial tribunal chairpersons."

It said that the ministry's assertion that cases in the process of being heard will continue to be handled by the chairpersons who have been removed was also incorrect.

"The fact is that the Malta Employers' Association has received official written notification from the office of the Industrial Tribunal that industrial tribunal sessions have been cancelled because the chairperson has been removed and is no longer authorised to continue hearing the case. The notification specifies that these cases will be heard by a new chairperson.

"While the minister has the authority to remove a chairman the minister cannot and should not interrupt a case in process. The chairman who refused to hand in his resignation guaranteed his right to conclude his pending cases. This is a fundamental principle."

The association stated that, while it was not questioning the integrity of the appointed persons, the manner in which this issue was handled raised serious concerns.

In a reply, the Ministry  for Social Dialogue reiterates that the MEA was incorrect in its evaluation.

"The chairpersons come from various fields of expertise and have been chosen on the basis of their competence."

The ministry also reiterated that the Chairpersons whose resignation was accepted would continue to handle the cases they were working on according to law.