Genuine trade unionist

As personnel and administration manager of Malta Drydocks at the time Michael Seychell was secretary of the General Workers' Union's metal workers' section, I would like to confirm the fact that Mr Seychell was first and foremost a trade unionist and never involved himself in politics in his dealings with the management.

Although he was a strong Labour supporter, he always put the rights of the dockyard workers before those of the Labour Party - and paid the price.

He was a trade unionist in the mould of the late Joe Attard Kingswell and, unlike the majority of his predecessors at the Drydocks, Mr Seychell always held the welfare of the workers before his political leanings.

I discovered this at first hand during the management-union meetings which I chaired at that time.

We in management were deeply shocked when we heard that he had been attacked at the GWU's headquarters in 1977 at a time when he was trying to stand up to the Labour government of the day, after Prime Minister Mintoff had called us all a bunch of eunuchs, in much more vulgar terms, had frozen wages, stopped overtime and reduced the salaries of executive and senior staff.

I am sure those Malta Drydocks workers who are still there today and were employed at the time Mr Seychell was secretary of the metal workers' section will know how well he represented them with honesty and with his motto of union before politics.