Opposition leader extends 'hand of friendship' but finds a hawkish Tony Zarb
GWU secretary-general Tony Zarb takes Opposition leader's call for cooperation with a pinch of salt.
The icy relations between the Nationalist Party and the General Workers' Union have been going on for years and it appears they will not thaw any time soon.
Because while Opposition leader Simon Busuttil attempted to extend a hand of friendship, this invitation was taken with a pinch of salt by union secretary-general Tony Zarb.
This evening, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil addressed the opening of the GWU national conference, marking 70 years of GWU.
Busuttil, who insisted on the importance of "independent trade unions", described the Nationalist Party as the workers' party and said he looked forward to working with the union.
"Unions should operate independently. I am well aware of GWU's history and its roots but I also believe history shouldn't push GWU away from its trade unionistic role. I also know that the PN and the GWU didn't see eye-to-eye but this shouldn't stop us from respecting each other's role and work together on issues," Busuttil said.
But Zarb's reaction may have come as a surprise to Busuttil: because while the PN leader very much lauded the GWU's work, the union's secretary-general did not hold back from lashing out at the PN.
"Yes we are ready to work with everyone, but out of conviction and not convenience. We always offered our help but the past administration repeatedly refused us. Because while Dr Busuttil talks about job creation, I would like to remind how the Nationalist government turned down our proposals to save jobs, one after the other," Zarb said.
"We are also ready to extend our cooperation with other trade unions. Dr Busuttil said he was ready to work with us. Well, I wish I had a positive reply to that but before we move there I want evidence and proof that you [Busuttil] genuinely want to work with us."
During his 30-minute speech, Zarb also pointedly declared it was "time to end the hypocrisy". Explaining that plans to privatise Air Malta dated as far back as 1994, Zarb said one should keep this in mind "before picturing oneself as some defender of the workers".
On his part, Joseph Muscat said the government had taken a very cautious approach in the restructuring process at Air Malta, making sure that the management appointed by the Nationalist administration would remain until their contract expired.
"At no point did we want to jeopardise Air Malta's restructuring and the management was retained. We inherited a management with clear and well-defined targets and I hope that by the time it reaches its mandate in a few months' time, all targets set by the European Union would have been met," the Prime Minister said.
Whilst reassuring that Budget 2014 will include measures to create employment and training opportunities, Muscat said the Labour government did have a plan.
"I understand the Opposition's call for a plan on job creation. I personally would have wished to find an existing plan on which to build... but we didn't find any and we built everything from scratch," Muscat said.
The government, he added, would not be offering any magic formulas but measures such as the Youth Guarantee programme.
The Prime Minister once again called on the trade unions to set up a unions' council. "I wish to see the day when all unions come together in this one council. This should be the next step in industrial relations and I urge the GWU to be open for dialogue," he said.
Speaking on government's plans to combat precarious employment condition, the Prime Minister said he had been "shocked" to find out that workers subcontracted by Wasterserv had poor working conditions because "of their skin colour".
"I could not believe it when the Environment Minister revealed the matter. As a government, I will not allow any form of discrimination," he declared.