Updated | PN want GWU boss to resign after releasing secret recording [LISTEN]

Nationalist party organ In-Nazzjon has released an edited, secret recording on YouTube which purportedly has General Workers Union secretary-general Tony Zarb hinting that the union can influence government tendering if Labour is elected to power.

The recording, edited in such a manner that it does not deliver a straight flow of the conversation, appears to capture GWU officials, amongst them Tony Zarb, speaking to a 'mediator' or a company owner, of the benefits of unionisation for his employees, as well as favourable treatment in the GWU organ.

In-Nazzjon claims the recording shows Tony Zarb portraying the union as being helpful to companies in government tenders, especially if Labour are elected to power. In it, a colleague of Zarb is heard saying that the union can give "worthy tenders" a "push", while Zarb himself points out that with company employees unionised with the GWU, the company would avoid bad press in the GWU organ l-orizzont.

In-Nazzjon claims that the recording also shows Tony Zarb saying that the government, especially with Labour in power, would be particularly sensitive to attacks from the union should a favoured company - in this case, a company whose employees are GWU members - did not receive a government tender.

According to In-Nazzjon, the conversation has been deliberately edited and the YouTube recording is only an excerpt of the entire conversation.

"This shows clearly the kind of pressure that the GWU puts on contractors or people in business, especially if Labour is in power," In-Nazzjon wrote in its news story today.

In an initial reaction, the GWU condemned what it termed the "misleading reporting" from the PN media of the meeting between Zarb and the company representative.

"This meeting was intended at addressing the problem of precarious employment. The PN has broadcast selective and edited excerpts of a private conversation in a bid to damage the GWU. The GWU considers this to be a continuation of the PN's attacks against it and against the interests of workers, and raises doubts as to whether the PN sees the GWU as a dignified partner in industrial relations."

The GWU said it was reserving the right to take "all steps necessary" with respect to the PN media's report.

On its part, the PN said in a statement that the GWU would be a "privileged partner" to a new Labour government. "Tony Zarb must resign immediately... the union's status as a privileged partner would put other workers' unions and their members at a disadvantage. A union that gives 'a push' to company tenders instead of workers shows a scandalous attitude of 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine'."