GWU official investigated over alleged election silent day breach

The General Workers' Union on Saturday said it was "deeply alarmed" after the Electoral Commission filed a criminal complaint against the secretary of its Transport, Maritime and Aviation Section over an alleged breach of the electoral silent day rules.

The section secretary, Jurgen Azzopardi, had been communicating with GWU members employed at the Resource Support & Services Ltd (RSSL) regarding ongoing collective agreement negotiations. The members had reached out to him seeking clarifications over the agreement which remains pending and unsigned.

On May 29, the day before the election, RSSL management had written to the staff describing proposals put forward for the collective agreement negotiations with the GWU. The union said many members reached out to seek information and clarification following that communication from their management.

“The Section Secretary did what any responsible trade union secretary is obliged to do,” the GWU said in a statement, adding Azzopardi had only updated members “on the actual state of those negotiations”.

The union insisted the section secretary’s communications addressed employment matters “only”,  and did not contain any political content, make any electoral reference or advocate any political position.

“A trade union secretary who keeps members informed about their collective agreement is not campaigning. He is doing his job,” the union said.

Azzopardi was interrogated under caution by the police’s Criminal Investigation Department.

The union argued the right of workers to form and join trade unions, and the right of those unions to organise their activities and communicate with their members, are fundamental rights protected under international labour laws which have been ratified by Malta. 

The GWU has formally informed the European Trade Union Confederation about the criminal complaint.

“Trade union rights are not negotiable, and any attempt to restrict them - however framed - will be challenged at every level available to us,” the GWU said in a statement.

GWU general secretary Kevin Camilleri said a union’s secretary’s first duty is “to his members”.

“When workers contact their union seeking clarity about their own collective

agreement, their secretary answers them. That is not a breach of any law -- it is the most basic function a trade union performs. The GWU will not accept a situation where an official faces criminal proceedings for discharging that function,” Camilleri said.

The union insisted that collective negotiations and the representation of workers are functions that operate “under their own legal framework” and are not displaced by electoral legislation.

“We will continue to discharge our duties as a trade union without fear.”