The Merseyside Trade Union Council has bitterly condemned the €1 million garnishee order issued against the General Workers' Union and called on trade unions to support the GWU.
The condemnation was made as the GWU wrote to the European Trade Union Confederation saying there had been an attempt at mediation last week in the dispute involving the GWU and the Malta Dockers' Union over recognition of port workers.
Merseyside union president Alec McFadden condemned the attitude of the government, the Malta Freeport and the garnishee order issued against the GWU.
On Thursday, the Freeport officially granted recognition to the Malta Dockers' Union as the main representative of its port workers following a verification process by the Director of Industrial Relations.
The GWU refused to accept the outcome of the exercise and described it as tainted. It said directives it had issued on Wednesday afternoon for port workers to go slow, work to rule and take their break all at one go would remain. That was when the Freeport applied for the issue of a garnishee order, which the court upheld.
Mr McFadden described this situation as similar to attempts made by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in her bid to destroy the British unions.
He also condemned the MDU for supporting the Freeport and the court's action, adding these were "not the words and actions of a sister union but the deeds of an employers' association".
He criticised comments made by economist John Cassar White in The Sunday Times who said the GWU's actions sent out the "wrong message to foreign investors and was endangering jobs".
Żminijietna appealed for a second secret ballot to resolve the industrial dispute.
The GWU said it had commissioned an independent secret ballot, which, it added, confirmed that 53 per cent of port workers were its members.
Żminijietna said the secret ballot was a democratic, just and transparent process supported by employers and proposed by the present government to solve similar disputes between unions in the public sector.