GWU boss Tony Zarb makes plans for union exit

This year's General Workers Union congress is set to be the last for long-standing secretary-general Tony Zarb.

Zarb who has held the position for 15 years today said that the union's National Congress to be held later this year would be his last as secretary-general. Zarb, 59, is set to contest the autumn congress and step down on reaching retirement age in 2015.

"I will no longer occupy the position between this year's Congress and the next," Zarb said, hinting that he would be stepping down mid-term. The union's National Congress is held every four years.

Zarb was appointed GWU secretary-general in October 1998 and officially took office in January 1999. Prior to becoming secretary-general, Zarb led the union's port & transport section, which he said was a poisoned chalice which everybody warned him against.

Speaking during the section's general conference in which outgoing secretary Charles Agius was replaced by Jeremy Camilleri, Zarb reminisced about his past experiences and thanked both Agius and Camilleri for their commitment to the workers' cause.  

Highlighting the achievements of the section over the past two years, Zarb thanked a tearful Agius and told him that the union's doors were always open.

"Charlie took over the section at a very difficult time and he led it through a turbulent period which among others saw the restructuring at Air Malta and the introduction of the Arriva service," Zarb said, adding that the two would still meet every Saturday morning for pastizzi and tea, bringing a smile to Agius' face.

Pledging his full support to Agius' successor, Jeremy Camilleri, Zarb said: "Let's roll our sleeves up and ensure that we are of service to our members who are the soul and heart of the union."

Zarb also hit out at the Nationalist Party for supporting a breakaway faction within the public transport workers. He warned Arriva workers to resist attempts to divide the workers from the union and said that the PN leader Simon Busuttil met the persons behind these attempts.

"The Nationalist Party has not changed its attitude in regards to the union. They remain hell-bent on destroying us. In the past they even attempted to imprison the union's leaders and we will never forget these events.  Faced by attacks from the right, the GWU will stand firm and we will soon celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the biggest workers movement in Malta."

He said the one of the section's main priorities would be that of dealing with the arrogance of some of the persons managing Arriva.

Turning to Air Malta, Zarb said that he was surprised by the airline's CEO Peter Davies statement on the need for a strategic partner for Air Malta.

"Does Davies' admission that Air Malta needs a strategic partner mean that the airline's reorganization failed? Did we need to pay Davies hundreds of thousands of euros to tell us that Air Malta needs a partner? If yes than we do not need your services anymore Mr Davies. You should be ashamed," Zarb said to the applause of the section's members.

Zarb also called on the government to refuse tender bids submitted by companies which have been convicted for employing persons in precarious conditions.

Thanking Charles Agius for the "sterling work" carried over the past two years, the union boss advised the new section secretary Jeremy Agius to follow his predecessor's example and ensure that the section is led collectively.

Underlining the importance of solidarity between workers, Zarb said: "Unfortunately during the last few years egoism has taken the upper hand and we need to return to a situation were solidarity reigns. When the workers were divided the workers suffered."