A port full of mines

GWU port workers want former union lawyer George Abela and PN president Victor Scerri to represent them in negotiations over port reform. Is this a vote of no confidence in Gejtu Mercieca and union leader Tony Zarb?

Gejtu Mercieca will be celebrating his first May day in his new role as the General Workers Union’s Number 2. But ever since he took Manuel Micallef’s place as Tony Zarb’s deputy, Gejtu Mericieca has managed to outshine the union’s brawny leader as the Nationalist Party’s favourite punching bag.
In its bid to rally its disillusioned middle class base, the PN has portrayed the sombre persona of Mercieca as the new boogie man – a dangerous militant and Labour stooge whose misguided militancy resulted in the loss of 144 jobs at Sea Malta.
Surely there could not have been a worse start to Mercieca’s term after clinching the union’s deputy post after the victory of the self-styled militants over Manuel Micallef, the deputy secretary-general who contested Tony Zarb’s post as union leader.
The Sea Malta debacle provided ammunition to critics of the newly elected militant leadership at the GWU’s helm. But Mercieca does not find any fault in the way the union dealt with the Sea Malta privatisation process.
He blames the closure of Sea Malta squarely on Austin Gatt’s divide and rule tactics. By making the offer of a government job for Sea Malta’ss land-based workers conditional on sea workers accepting harsher conditions offered by Grimaldi, the government had sown the seeds of discord between the two categories of workers.
Mercieca says the move had been unnecessary. “The government knew that the law stipulates that when a company is sold or transferred, the new owner is obliged to assume its workers and honour previous collective agreements.”
But according to Mercieca by relieving Grimaldi of his obligation to employ land-based workers, the government paved the way for the company’s dissolution. “The government took upon itself the burden of employing these workers when it could have passed this burden to Grimaldi who is now reaping the benefits of Sea Malta without taking any of its workers.”
But whether it was a result of misguided militancy as alleged by the government or a result of a Gatt stratagem to undermine the union through divide and rule tactics, the union’s image emerged tarnished from that affair. The fate of Sea Malta’s workers stands as an ominous warning to other workers wrestling with privatisations or restructuring. But Mercieca denies this has eroded the confidence of union members in the ability of the union’s leadership to conduct negotiations.
“This is merely propaganda aimed at undermining us,” Mercieca claims, once again seeing a PN-orchestrated conspiracy behind these reports. According to the militant this is just the second attempt to undermine the GWU’s leadership after attempts to unseat Tony Zarb from the union’s helm in elections held in October failed. “Together with a number of accomplices the government is simply trying to achieve what it had failed to achieve in the GWU’s national congress.”
But the port workers’ insistence on being represented by former MLP deputy leader and former GWU legal advisor George Abela, and ironically, the president of the PN’s General Council Victor Scerri, has been interpreted as a direct challenge to Zarb’s and Mercieca’s authority in the union.
Was the port workers’ decision a no-confidence vote in Tony Zarb and Gejtu Merieca? Mercieca disagrees, arguing that the union’s leadership is not involved in negotiations which are usually conducted by the union’s section secretary and the union’s lawyers.
Therefore according to Mercieca, the two outsiders are not stepping neither in his, nor in Tony Zarb’s shoes. But he contends that port workers have crossed the lines by requesting the services of the two outsiders. “As an institution we have our rules. If people do not follow rules we have anarchy. Just imagine the Nationalist Party’s reaction if its employees at the Dar Centrali ask the GWU to represent them.”
Although port workers have broken the GWU’s rules by preferring two private lawyers to the union’s lawyers, the union has turned a blind eye on their behaviour. “They were allowed to choose their lawyers as long as they did so on a personal basis and not as members of the union.”
The union is still represented in these talks by section secretary Emmanuel Zammit who is now sitting next to Victor Scerri and George Abela on the negotiating table. Zammit so far has had the full backing of Mercieca. “He is keeping me informed on the negotiations as we had agreed beforehand.”
But has the port workers’ insubordination weakened Mercieca’s leadership? Mercieca downplays the significance of this incident. “Workers simply signed because they saw others signing. I do not think they were offended by anything we did. They simply felt more comfortable with George Abela as lawyer. But they never reneged on being represented by the GWU. It is not true that they do not trust us because of what has happened at Sea Malta.”
The whole incident could also be a result of workers making their pragmatic calculations. With the PN’s president and Alfred Sant’s nemesis on their side, they might clinch a better deal from the government than by sitting with Zarb or Mercieca next to them.
Mercieca would not comment on the intention of these workers. “Time will tell whether they will win more concessions. What we know for sure is that the government is proposing a drastic reduction in their incomes. Someone who is presently earning Lm10,000 could end up losing half that pay.”
In the coming days the tender for cargo handling which used to be a GWU’s monopoly will be issued. The GWU is bidding together with the Hili Group for this tender. If the tender is awarded to someone else, it could be hard financial blow for the union. “Its no secret that the government is trying to undermine us. They know that the only way to do this is by undermining us financially.”
Yet if the union manages to outbid its rivals, it risks being accused once again of a conflict of interest. How can the GWU be an employer and a trade union at the same time?
Mercieca does not deny that the union has a conflict of interest but he adds that the union is a model employer and in union run enterprises there is a clear separation between management and section secretaries who represent these workers.
Apart from internal clashes and the onslaught from the Nationalist media, the GWU’s bargaining power is also compromised by the country’s economic situation. “When unemployment is rife workers fear for their job security. In these circumstances we refrain from asking for hefty pay raises,” says Mercieca.
He also attributes Malta’s current economic problems to the government’s haste in joining the European Union. Two years after Malta joined the EU, Mercieca feels that the union’s position against the government’s haste to join the EU has been vindicated.
“We were never against Malta joining the EU. We were only against rushing in to membership. We constantly meet employers who lament the lack of preparation for membership.”
In these circumstances the union is more concerned with preserving jobs. Mercieca is aware that the union is facing hard times. Despite the decrease in purchasing power experience by many of its members, the union cannot afford to appear irresponsible by making more demands on employers. So has the union lost its strength?
“Our strength is enormous. But we are careful on how to use our strength. We will not let anyone interpret our actions as being aimed to undermine the government.”
Mercieca is convinced that it will be the people who will eventually understand that it is the government who wants to pick a fight with the union and not vice versa.
“Instead of seeking our help by focusing on the creation of work, it is using its media to attack us continuously because we are holding our ground.”
But Mercieca singles out Austin Gatt as the man behind the strategy to undermine the union. “We have excellent relationships with education and employment minister Louis Galea. Our relationship with the Prime Minister is one between gentlemen.”
Mercieca attributes Gatt’s animosity to his past as the union man at Enemalta. But how can one trust the union’s intentions when it is still associated with the MLP to the extent that the union will once again march alongside Labour stalwarts in tomorrow’s May Day demonstration?
Mercieca insists that as the secretary of the union’s largest he even worked alongside Nationalist shop stewards. “Our first loyalty is towards the union and not towards a particular party and we expect that from every member. Although we are leftists, we represent everyone.”
But how can Nationalist workers who see him marching with Labour on May Day believe that the GWU will stand for their rights if the MLP is re-elected in government? “This is something that happens in every country in Europe,” rebuts Mercieca.
And yet in most countries it is leftist political parties which participate in trade union marches and not vice-versa. But for Mercieca there can be no break with tradition.
“In Malta its different because it was always the MLP that organised the May Day demonstration and we cannot afford to organise separate demonstrations as this will only serve to divide workers.”
Mercieca denies rumours that the GWU had stopped its protests after the MLP expressed strong reservations on the protest held during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting..
“As part of the central administration I never attended any meeting where the party told us not to organise any protests. No such meetings were ever held. This is a perception created by the media.”
Mercieca explains that the union has only stopped its protests because talks on the fuel surcharge had started with the government. He hits back at the media for its double standards. “First they call us trouble makers because we take to the streets, then we are criticised for not holding these protests. One has to choose. They cannot dictate our agenda. It’s up to us to decide when to protest or not.”
Mercieca won’t be cornered in expressing support for the Malta Labour Party. “All I am concerned about is that in Malta we have work irrespectively of who is in government.”
But Mercieca adds that the present government does not have any ideas on how to create work. Mercieca subscribes to the MLP’s proposed business plan to spur up economic growth by reducing bureaucracy and red tape. But he also mentions themes like rampant tax evasion which are rarely touched upon by the MLP.
“Workers pay tax on every penny they earn. But there are many evading tax. If the government collects more taxes, there will be more money to help people who are drifting in to poverty due to a lack of education and social degradation.”
Political controversy aside in next Monday’s demonstration, the General Workers Union will not be simply affirming its historical ties to the so-called workers movement, it will also be sending a courageous message to the Maltese public. Apart from affirming the union’s European credentials through the participation of 150 trade unionists from Italy, the union will affirm its internationalism by marching alongside a number of immigrant workers from India, Turkey, Kurdistana and Sri Lanka, who asked to participate in the march and the GWU immediately accepted.
“We have nothing against foreign workers who are a reality in every country,” affirms Mercieca. Mercieca speaks of the need to organise legal workers hailing from third world countries who are allegedly exploited in the construction industry as well as in hotels and restaurants.
Mercieca does not blame these workers for stealing Maltese jobs but squarely blames the government and some employers for offering them inferior conditions and creating a fertile ground for racism against these workers. He also speaks of the extreme vulnerability of these workers who risk losing their jobs or being reported to the police by their own employers when they report abuses. “Workers are only threatened if the government creates a situation where Maltese jobs are threatened. As long as the government and the employer abide to employment legislation, there are no dangers. The important thing is that these workers enjoy the same conditions as Maltese workers.”
Mercieca even hints that the union could in the future open its membership to legal immigrant workers. Mercieca also expresses enlightened views on illegal immigration resulting from global injustices. “When we organised the CHOGM protest we highlighted reality that Malta was hosting dictators who do not respect human rights. While everyone was feasting with these dictators we chose to remember the problems faced by workers worldwide.”
He also calls on union members to be more comprehensive towards migrants whom he refers as fellow workers looking for better conditions. “When these people are left locked up in detention for months, they are bound to rebel. The Maltese people should understand this.”
But he considers illegal immigration as political problem which necessitates action at European Union level to relieve Malta of its burden. “Of course we are a small country. We cannot take this financial burden by ourselves.”
Mercieca’s political correctness contrasts completely with Salvu Sammut’s speech in last November’s GWU General Council where he referred to immigrant prostitutes spreading disease. But Mercieca defends his president. “His speech was taken out of context. He was speaking about health problems associated with prostitutes hailing from countries where health conditions are poor. He was not referring to all illegal immigrants. Even Maltese people can spread disease.”
Mercieca acknowledges that the union is not doing enough to tackle racism and promises that it will be taking a more active role in the future. According to Mercieca the spread of racism has taken the union by surprise. He attributes the rise of racism in Malta to a widespread fear among Maltese workers that immigrants are taking their jobs. “In circumstances where workers face a decrease in living conditions this is not surprising. But we should never blame workers for threatening Maltese workers. It is those employers who abuse from the system by offering miserable working conditions to these workers who are to blame.”
In these circumstances Mercieca claims that racism is serving as an alienation for workers. “In these circumstances workers are pointing their fingers at these workers instead of blaming employers and the government for allowing this exploitation.”
He even considers taxing immigrant labour as the way forward to guarantee the sustainability of pensions-alongside measures to encourage more women to work. Surely these measures are considered as preferable to raising the retirement age to 65. He is also baffled that the same government which is opting to increase the retirement age has on various occasions offered early retirement schemes to workers in troubled industries.
Gejtu Mercieca might have left a landmark as the union militant who resisted the moderates’ bid for the leadership. Yet he might even leave a more profound mark, if he succeeds to influence the union’s rank and file with his enlightened views on migration.