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30 March, 2000International trade union pressure helped bring an end to the charges against Malta's General Workers' Union.
MALTA: The IMF's Malta affiliate, the General Workers' Union, reports that seven months after the incidents which occurred at Malta International Airport (MIA) and the legal battle which ensued, the government's Cabinet of Ministers has advised the country's president to pardon GWU officials and members facing criminal court charges. On August 20, 1999, the police and military brutally broke up a legitimate GWU strike at the airport, during which many strikers were arrested, dragged into police trucks and taken to police headquarters.
The GWU has made it clear that it never requested pardons because its officials and members were guilty of nothing, thus nothing to be pardoned for. If workers were mistreated in such a way again, the union stated that its reaction would be just the same.
The dispute with the MIA regarding union recognition, which was the initial reason for the confrontation, has also been settled. An agreement has been signed between the MIA and the two unions concerned, the GWU and the UHM, and the original request put forth by the GWU before the events of August 20 - that the workers should be able to opt for the union of their choice to represent them -- forms the most important part of this agreement.
Malta's prime minister has acknowledged publicly the pressure of international trade unions, in particular the ETUC, ICFTU and IMF, on the government to resolve the situation and to drop the court charges against the GWU. A pardon, he said, was the only way to stop these charges.
The GWU's general secretary, Tony Zarb, has stated in a press conference that even though the government is dropping the court cases, the union will continue with its complaint before the International Labour Organisation. He and Anthony Coleiro, Secretary of the GWU's Shipyards (Metal) Section, have expressed their deep appreciation for the international trade union support. Zarb said that "the solidarity shown was very important and without doubt helped a lot to force the Maltese government to come back to its senses and stop all procedures."
Search the IMF website under "Malta" for earlier IMF news items on this dispute.
The GWU has made it clear that it never requested pardons because its officials and members were guilty of nothing, thus nothing to be pardoned for. If workers were mistreated in such a way again, the union stated that its reaction would be just the same.
The dispute with the MIA regarding union recognition, which was the initial reason for the confrontation, has also been settled. An agreement has been signed between the MIA and the two unions concerned, the GWU and the UHM, and the original request put forth by the GWU before the events of August 20 - that the workers should be able to opt for the union of their choice to represent them -- forms the most important part of this agreement.
Malta's prime minister has acknowledged publicly the pressure of international trade unions, in particular the ETUC, ICFTU and IMF, on the government to resolve the situation and to drop the court charges against the GWU. A pardon, he said, was the only way to stop these charges.
The GWU's general secretary, Tony Zarb, has stated in a press conference that even though the government is dropping the court cases, the union will continue with its complaint before the International Labour Organisation. He and Anthony Coleiro, Secretary of the GWU's Shipyards (Metal) Section, have expressed their deep appreciation for the international trade union support. Zarb said that "the solidarity shown was very important and without doubt helped a lot to force the Maltese government to come back to its senses and stop all procedures."
Search the IMF website under "Malta" for earlier IMF news items on this dispute.