GWU confirms Geitu Mercieca to retire from post in October

However, a GWU statement issued after today's meeting of the Union's national council explained how he will be retiring upon reaching 61 years “as stipulated by the organisation’s statute”. The GWU also explained how Mercieca would be benefiting from an unspecified “period of accumulated leave”

 The GWU statement also announced that the Union would continue “benefiting from his experience” as he was gong to continue representing the GWU on the National Employment Authority. The GWU statement makes no mention of Mercieca’s intentions for the General Secretary post as claimed by the Nationalist media.

Mercieca served a long career in trade-unionism and had filled the post of Deputy General Secretary since October 2005, after serving for numerous years as Section Secretary in the Union’s Chemicals and Energy Section.

In its statement, the GWU thanked Mercieca for his “useful commitment to industrial relations in Malta and wished him the best of luck.

Yesterday, MaltaToday reported how Mercieca, would reportedly resign his position before today’s national council meeting, just four months before he retires.

The Nationalist party’s maltarightnow.com reported that Mercieca would resign “after losing the majority support of the members of the GWU’s central administration, the section secretaries and the national council members.

Mercieca was expected to retire in four months’ time after reaching pensionable age, but delegates had voted him in his position last October for a four-year term until 2013.

Maltarightnow.com claimed Mercieca was aspiring for Tony Zarb’s secretary-general post. Now, short of being voted out by the national council, having lost key supporters, Mercieca was expected to resign.