Interview 01/09/2002

A hard-working Labourite who was dumped by Labour

A fervent Labour Party supporter who loved the party from his early days at the dockyard, Michael Seychell was frequently given the elbow because of his ideas. He spoke to RAY ABDILLA why he thinks that the MLP today needs to apologise and make amends and if it hopes to start afresh, to regain trust

Mike Seychell, is a well-know person in Malta. Today he is regarded by many as anti-Labour, a Nationalist die-hard. The facts are something else. Yes, he opposes most of the MLP's policies and in many ways he approves of government policies such as EU accession, but he still dreams about the day that he will be able to vote Labour again.

The former GWU militant also concedes that the Nationalist Party in government are not virgins and on many issues they need to brush up their act, but still the PN is better than the MLP.

Mike Seychell started to work at the Dockyard in 1955 as an apprentice. Early on his fellow workers wanted him to lead them as their shop steward. He then became a delegate of the General Conference. He became Assistant Secretary when a certain Joe Borg died.

In 1970 he decided to work as a full-time trade unionist and was appointed Secretary of the Construction and Woodworks Section. In those days construction was very high on the agenda and it was an important post. In 1971 the Labour Party won the General Elections and Mike Seychell who worked for the MLP to win elections moved on to the Metal Section of the GWU. He kept his post until 1977.

Mr Seychell said that in 1973 there was the first rift with Premier Dom Mintoff. "The Metal Section decided to boycott the Prime Minister because we knew that he was about to give a rollicking to the Drydocks workers and was to call them loads of names. In fact that's what Mintoff did and he wasn't happy the way we had boycotted this event.

"I always believed that for the workers' sake we had to be politically independent even though I was myself an active Labour supporter.

"Not everyone thought so: George Agius, among those totally in favour of the amalgamation between the GWU and the MLP, a decision which I never accepted as I always wanted to be independent. My question was. "What if the Nationalist Party return to office?"

Mr Seychell said that he still voted Labour in the 1976 general elections. "Many things had started to go wrong: the dissolution of the dockyard pension fund is something which we still suffer from today. Yes, I totally agreed with the two thirds pensions scheme but not to do away with something that the workers had paid for out of their own pockets.

"The same happened to the Farsons workers and in some other industrialised private companies. There was also the doctors' dispute and still most GWU officials continued to support the government.

"I remember that there was a woman doctor working at the Drydocks whom they wanted to send to hospital as a strike-breaker. I did not want her to go to the hospital because I did not want to leave the Dockyard without a doctor.

"That decision which I fully supported as an act of common sense did not go well with several members of the MLP. They came to beat me up at the GWU. Fortunately I had gone to the Valletta Police station and asked for protection."

Mr Seychell said that after the MLP returned to power in 1976 he and his family went to celebrate the Labour Party victory. "But during the celebrations I felt a bit uneasy. Watching all this made me angry inside and I felt that it was the end of the MLP credentials."

The former GWU official said that in 1977 he had to leave his post at the GWU and started to look for another job. He said that Dr Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici had offered him a sum of money after losing his post. The money was never paid.

"Later I was offered a job at Stainless Steel Products. With three kids I felt relieved but on the eve of starting the new job I had a phone call from the Manager, Michael McNamara, a South African who operated the Maltese plant.

"He told me that he had received a phone call from Minister Agatha Barbara. She had threatened to withdraw McNamara's own work permit if he employed Seychell. The job offer was withdrawn.

"To make it worse Agatha Barbara phoned me that day and said that she wanted to speak to me. I obliged and went. With her was Secretary Frans Carbone, who was related to my wife.

"Ms Barbara told me that she had a job for me, at the Stainless Steel Products. I started shouting and swearing more than Ms Barbara herself, who was well known for her swearing and bad manners. These events were published in The Times a few days after they happened. I haven't waited for Ms Barbara to pass away to tell the story ."

Mr Seychell said that it didn't end there. He said that in 1989 he was practically fired from the Holiday Inn were he used to work as a Manager because he had been accused of luring workers into the UHM. "This was untrue but they never wanted to leave me alone. I eventually received Lm15,000 in compensation for unfair dismissal but the damage had already been inflicted on me."

There were other incidents. "I received a telephone call from former Minister Lorry Sant informing me that my 15-year-old son was frequenting the Nationalist Party Club at Birkirkara. I couldn't believe my ears. I didn't like the idea of my son visiting political clubs during his school break but I also questioned the invasion of my family's privacy. But I think that's how the Labour Party worked and to a certain extent is still working today.

“As regards my political allegiance I did not vote for the MLP in the 1981 election. I wrote on the voting document a rude word in Maltese which had meant that 'Mintoff has ruined the party." After the 1976 election Mintoff had told the MLP delegates of what had happened after the election victory, all the wrecking of PN party clubs. Mintoff had promised that it wouldn't happen again.

"But with Mintoff held to ransom by Lorry Sant, these terrible things continued in 1976 and beyond," Mr Seychell said.

Mr Seychell said that today's MLP hasn't changed much. Dr Alfred Sant was the Party President when all this nonsense happened in Malta.

“He did not say anything at the time and even now he refuses to apologise for the MLP's wrongdoings in the seventies and eighties.

The church rightly apologised for all it did in the sixties. That is the way to do it. What's so wrong with making an apology for past wrongdoings? Today the MLP continues to confuse: promising to keep students' stipends and then doing the opposite when in power, attacking people and calling them dirt in public, people that you have to work with if re-elected. And worst of all promising that you won't make a political meal out of the Judges' case and then doing the opposite a few weeks later.”

Asked about the EU membership debate Mr Seychell said: "On the European Union issue all I can say is that I am in favour. It is not because I feel that we can't do it all alone. I believe in the Maltese people, most of them who went abroad did a good job for themselves and made a name for their country. But to be cut off from such a big open market doesn't make sense.

"We need to become part of this big project. I think we could gain out of being part of a big market. We can only lose by staying out. Other important gains are to be made in education and through the EU's social charter. So why stay out?"

Regarding Mike Seychell's present life, he said that at the moment he still works in industrial relations. He works as a consultant with two companies involved in industrial tribunals and also as a freelance consultant. Mr Seychell said he likes reading books and newspapers. He also likes reading newspaper features. He said that although on the internet one can read anything, when it comes to features the newspapers always comes first.

He also loves and likes to read about the environment. When there is an article or a debate on such a thing he really goes into it. When there was all the talk about Hagar Qim and the future of Ramla l-Hamra, he really interested himself very much.

Mr Seychell also likes to keep cuttings of some of the best features on newspapers. He kept Dr Alfred Sant's comments on the current judicial crisis as he kept the answer of Joe Saliba, Secretary General of the Nationalist Party regarding the same issue.

Other articles he likes to read are those of Lino Spiteri and Lou Bondi. He is also engrossed with the folklore of other countries and is into the growing of olives and vines.

At 62 he still feels that he can and wants to contribute in various fields. But his eternal hope is that the MLP would change for the good of the country.