The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) has accused the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin (UĦM) of poaching its members and of using "dirty" tactics which breach trade union ethics.
MUT president John Bencini said the UĦM was taking advantage of the few people who felt the union should have stayed out of the water and electricity tariffs issue and was using this as an excuse to poach its members.
He was contacted to react to a statement by UĦM general secretary Gejtu Vella, who claimed that a number of teachers and nurses had joined his union "because they were disappointed with their union's participation in a politically-charged demonstration".
Mr Bencini confirmed that "a handful" of members had left the teachers' union, but this was compensated by the "four or five handfuls" who joined its fold after the protest.
The protest against the water and electricity tariffs, which was held on Sunday and continued on Monday, was organised by the Għaqda Unions Maltin, an organisation which includes the 11 unions that form part of the forum, and the General Workers' Union (GWU).
Contacted yesterday, Mr Vella said many people had approached him to join the UĦM because they were "disappointed with the style of leadership of the MUT and MUMN".
He confirmed that the shift took place specifically because of the protest but said the UĦM had not poached anyone since the union had been approached.
But when contacted, Mr Bencini said poaching went against trade unionism ethics.
"Is this the future of trade unionism in Malta? Are we going to keep poaching members from another union just to make a point? I have been approached by many UĦM members who are angry that their unions did not stick up for them on the tariffs issue. There are many disillusioned with the UĦM, I can assure you," he said.
He said the MUT was aware that participating in the tariffs protest posed risks.
"There was an element of risk and this had been discussed internally. However, we felt the benefits for our members outweighed the risks. We took risks in the national interest and in the best interest of our members. Having said that, we were faced with an equal amount of risks had we decided not to participate," he said.
However, he said he had a clear conscience that his members' interests had been safeguarded.
He said that if the poaching persisted, the union would have no alternative but to take action. Asked what this could consist of, Mr Bencini mentioned opening up its doors to the whole educational spectrum or else even creating a general union as a last resort.
The last time the unions were united was in November 2008, just a month after the announcement of the new water and electricity tariffs. Back then, the unions had walked shoulder-to-shoulder down Valletta's Republic Street to protest against the hike.
But this was short-lived and the unions were back on non-speaking terms just a few days later when, after a number of meetings with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, the UĦM and the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions broke ranks with the GWU and other unions.