GWU chief's actions ‘will not be influenced’ by Labour's presence in government

General Workers’ Union’s secretary-general Josef Bugeja insisted that he will not shy away from taking necessary action to safeguard workers’ rights, despite the Labour Party being in government.

“My primary interest will always be with the union’s members, and not to whichever political party is in government,” Bugeja said on Reporter.

“While most of our members are Labourites, a significant portion of them are Nationalists too. Party politics isn’t a factor to me when speaking out.”

The GWU has historic close links with Labour, and Bugeja’s predecessor Tony Zarb was often accused of serving PL’s partisan interests ahead of the union’s own members.

However, Bugeja struck a cautious tone when asked by host Saviour Balzan about the modern relevance of the relationship between party and union.

He instantly referred to a specific case, whereby an inquiry under the previous Nationalist administration revealed that government-employed care workers were working in precarious – but not gravely so- conditions.

“I told the minister responsible to take action, but he had responded that the people weren’t working in grave conditions.”

“The current Labour government listens to us more than the previous Nationalist one had,” he added. When pressed as to the legitimacy of this statement given that PL and PN share similar economic policies, Bugeja said that their political similarity is exactly why he has no problem defending workers’ interests regardless of the party in power.

Bugeja also denied having a cosy relationship with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, claiming that he has never personally phoned him up.

“I am ready to tell Muscat face to face if I disagree with his government’s policies,” he said. “Indeed, he had rejected my proposal for the government to employ all care workers, cleaners and security officials currently employed by contractors, a proposal that could have ended the problem of precarious employment once and for all.”

‘Absolutely nothing wrong’ with lease of GWU offices to ARMS

Bugeja reiterated his defence of the union’s decision to lease offices to state utility billing company ARMS, despite a National Audit report revealing that the deal breached its lease agreement with government for its headquarters.

According to the agreement, the union is forbidden from transferring or letting part of its Valeltta building to any company in which it has under 51% shareholding.

However, Bugeja said that the GWU had recently redeemed its ground rent – for €16,026 - rendering the property a freehold and hence allowing the union to sublease it to third parties.

He also questioned how an evaluation report by the Lands Department on the property that the NAO had failed to get its hands on was leaked to the Times of Malta. The report, carried out in 2008, claims that the GWU was legally bound to pay at least €3.2 million to redeem the ground rent.