Business lobbies urge Labour Party to withdraw electoral pledge on mandatory union membership

Business lobbies have urged the Labour Party to withdraw its electoral proposal to introduce mandatory union membership for employees.  

The employer bodies, which consist of Malta Employers’ Association, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, and the Malta Chamber of SME said that the measure as proposed was “regressive and undemocratic,” and would not in any way strengthen the state of industrial relations and social dialogue in Malta.

“The constituted bodies stressed that they are emphatically not opposed to trade union membership, and proof of this is that Malta has one of the highest trade union density on the world,” the bodies said.

The constituted bodies said that employees are free to choose whether to become members of the union of their choice, and the bodies are unified in their view that no one, including companies, should be denied the right to association with a union or organisation of their choice or to opt to withdraw or dissociate themselves from such membership.

“This is a fundamental principle of any democracy which can never be tampered with. The bodies recommended that, rather than mandatory membership, trade unions should be assisted in becoming better equipped to attract more members through capacity building initiatives.”

During a press conference, Director General of the MEA Joseph Farrugia delivered a presentation where he explained that the Labour Party PL proposal goes against the spirit of ILO Convention 87, the United Nations Charter for Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights and also the Maltese Constitution.

On Monday, during a Malta Chamber of Commerce chat Finance Minister Clyde Caruana conceded forced trade union membership could pose logistical issues for stakeholders involved in the process.

In its electoral manifesto, the Labour Party says that, in principle, it is in favour of making union membership mandatory and will kick off a discussion process with the social partners.

Caruana said the idea stems from the reality faced by a section of the workforce that are exploited due to not having the skills and financial stability to stand up for their rights.

The business lobbies said it appreciated Caruana’s assertion that there are workers who do not want to be unionised, that they should not be forced to become union members and that they should not be forced to become union members.

However, the bodies highlighted that the Labour Party electoral manifesto does not support the minister’s statement.

They said that in their documents, both major political parties had made some valid proposals that should be the basis of national consensus on some issues, combined with others that are frivolous and unrealistic.