Tony Zarb sues PN for libel

General Workers' Union secretary general Tony Zarb has filed a libel suit against four persons over a recording broadcast by the Nationalist Party media, which the union claims is an edited conversation of an exchange that took place in mid-2012 between Zarb and a contractor over precarious employment.

The libel suit is against Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, PN secretary general Paul Borg Olivier, PN executive president Marthese Portelli and NET newsroom head Nathaniel Attard.

Since the release of the edited version, both Lawrence Gonzi and PN deputy leader Simon Busuttil have called for the resignation of Zarb. On his part, Labour leader Joseph Muscat has urged the PN to release the full recording.

In a statement, the GWU reiterated that the news carried by the PN media contained "false allegations, an attempt to tarnish Zarb's reputation".

Referring to the PN's statement, the GWU said the declaration "a stench of corruption and abuse" was a "serious allegation and unfounded".

"The PN built a story on a long conversation between the GWU and a contractor, known for employing workers on precarious conditions, which it edited. The recording is a manipulation of a conversation in which Zarb urged the contractor to start following the law on workers' rights," the GWU said.

The union lambasted the "incorrect and dirty tactics" of the PN "which are not worthy of someone aspiring to take this country into another legislature."

The GWU added that the PN was working with a contractor who, under the PN administration, was awarded public contracts despite breaching workers' rights.