Updated | UHM confident it has over 400 drivers, concerned over ‘threat to trade unionism’

UHM wants bus drivers' verification • Video by Ray Attard

At least 100 drivers who registered with the Union Haddiema Maghqudin to have their membership cut directly from their salary were found to have not been registered by the Malta Public Transport Services (MPTS).

This means that at least 100 drivers were not considered to be UHM members by the MTPS. Some of these drivers had also resigned as members of the General Workers Union.

‘Check-off’ is one of four systems available to workers affiliated with a union, and in this case, the membership is cut directly from their salary by the employer. But when the UHM and MPTS were verifying the lists, the names of over 100 bus drivers were found missing and the numbers did not add up.

During talks with the Transport Minister, the authorities said they would investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, the UHM is insisting that it has the majority to become the bus drivers’ recognised union. Out of some 670 bus drivers, the UHM said over 400 were registered with it.

“Why should the GWU be afraid of holding an election if the UHM does not have a majority? All we are asking is for the drivers to be given the chance to declare their preferred union,” UHM secretary general Josef Vella said.

Vella said he believed the GWU was placing the government under pressure to hinder the normal verification process from taking place. Usually, a verification procedure requires the Director for the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) to verify the number of workers himself.

In this case however, the MPTS requested to see the list of drivers itself, including their names and identity card numbers.

In an email to MPTS chief Konrad Pule, the Director for the DEIR insisted that it was the workers’ rights to be collectively represented by the union with the majority of employees.

“Employers do not have the right to know whether an employee is affiliated with a union or not. More importantly, employers do not have the right to know with which union an employee is registered with,” Director Noel Vella said.

He went on to notify Pule that asking the UHM to provide details on the drivers went against data protection and such information could only be requested by the Trade Unions Registrar.

The UHM however opted to present the MPTS with the requested information, to prove that it did enjoy the majority of workers.

But when the UHM presented the Transport Ministry with the list of drivers registered with it, the UHM was allegedly told “we called your bluff and you brought proof”.

During the press conference, the UHM showed journalists a list of bus drivers who had resigned from the GWU to join the UHM.

“It is of no surprise that the GWU is delaying the process. It wants to buy time to convince the drivers not to leave it or to join back. It is clear that the government is under pressure by the GWU. We are at a point where the democracy of trade unionism is under threat,” Vella said.

Asked whether the UHM had any suspicions as to what could have happened with the check-offs, Vella said the unions could not point its fingers to anyone: “But I shudder at the thought that someone could be as powerful enough to convince a company to tamper with the lists.”

Vella once again confirmed that a number of bus drivers received threats for following the union’s directive and striking.