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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 DECEMBER 2024 PN should not squander chance to ditch animosity towards GWU Editorial PARLIAMENT is tomorrow expected to vote on a resolution amending the government lease agreement with the General Workers' Union over its Valletta headquarters. The resolution seeks to remove a condition in the agreement that allows the GWU to sublet parts of its premises to commercial entities only if it enjoys a ma- jority shareholding. If approved, the amended agree- ment will allow the GWU to sublet parts of the Work- ers' Memorial Building to commercial entities in which it has no shareholding whatsoever. The resolution was presented by Lands Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi after the Court ruled earlier this year that the GWU breached the conditions of its government lease agreement when it sublet parts of its premises to commercial entities. The Court ordered the two commercial entities – Arms Ltd and Sciacca Grill – to stop operations but it also ruled against the union's eviction from the building. The court case had been instituted by the National- ist Party, then led by Simon Busuttil, in 2017 after the National Audit Office flagged the contractual breaches. The Opposition has already declared that it will be voting against the resolution to remain consistent with its past actions. Speaking in parliament earlier this month, Nationalist MP Darren Carabott argued that the resolution would allow the GWU to "pass through the window after it failed to pass through the door". He insisted this is not how things should happen. While Carabott was right in arguing that this is not how things should be done, the Opposition's justifica- tion to vote against remains very weak. This leader believes the PN will make a mistake to vote against the resolution. At this stage, this is not consist- ency but obstinance, which unnecessarily reinforces the PN's historical animosity towards the GWU. It is true that the Court established that there was a breach of contractual obligations involving public land that had been passed on to the union but the Court cru- cially also refuted the request to evict the union from its historical headquarters. On the basis of this dual outcome, the PN could have remained consistent with its past actions by voting against the resolution at committee stage – as it did – on a point of principle to stress its opposition to illegal behaviour. But it should vote in favour at the final stage in the plenary on Monday to show that it embraces the court's ruling against eviction. After all, the union will be paying almost €2 million to the government for the change in the contractual condition and as compensa- tion for the breach perpetuated over the years. Today's PN has a chance to show that it can rise above historical animosity and be part of the solution that would allow Malta's largest trade union to make better use of its assets. It will also give Bernard Grech the op- portunity to show that he is different from his predeces- sors, who never hid their prejudices against the GWU. This leader is not oblivious to the historical context that gave birth to these prejudices. In part they were borne out of ideological opposition to worker unioni- sation back in the 1960s and later on as a result of the misguided statutory union between the GWU and the Labour Party in the 1970s and 1980s. But it would be a mistake today if the PN under Grech allows its past to shackle it from moving forward with a more inclusive vision that embraces the invaluable work of trade unions. After all it is not as if government lease contracts have never been amended. Only recently, the lease agree- ment for the development of Fort Chambray into a hotel and luxury residences was amended to allow the current concessionaire, Michael Caruana, to transfer parts of the public concession to a group of business- men. Caruana has missed several contractual obliga- tions and the project remains unfinished. This could have prompted the government to pull the plug on the concession and return the historical fort to the public. None of this happened and instead the lease agreement was amended by a parliamentary resolution earlier this year in a committee session that only lasted a few min- utes and with the Opposition voting in favour. It is ironic that after playing ball on the Fort Chambray resolution, which was nothing more than allowing pri- vate developers to continue making more money at the public's expense, the PN is objecting to an amendment on the GWU lease agreement when this involves an in- stitution that has a very important social role to play. Writing in MaltaToday, GWU Secretary General Jo- sef Bugeja argues that Opposition MPs want to vote against the motion even though government policy has long been that of supporting businesses, social partners and voluntary organisations to remain financially via- ble. He is right in this respect, which is why this leader finds it hard to reconcile the PN's favourable stand on the Fort Chambray resolution with its obstinate oppo- sition to the GWU resolution. Bernard Grech should put a stop to this confusion and insist that the Opposition vote in favour of amending the GWU agreement when the final vote is taken on Monday. This leader has no qualms saying that what the union did was wrong. It may have received the wrong legal ad- vice back in 2014 when it chose to sublet parts of the building to Arms Ltd, a state entity, and Sciacca Grill, a restaurant, but this is no excuse. Within this context, the GWU's behaviour needs to be condemned but the union must not continue being punished when a perfectly legal solution can be found. Quote of the Week "The less work the people's representatives give the Commissioner for Standards, the more they deserve the title of Honourables." President Myriam Spiteri Debono during the Republic Day speech, her first since becoming president in April this year. MaltaToday 10 years ago 14 December 2014 Key witness in oil scandal never interrogated by police FOR eight years, Cathy Farrugia, the wife of former oil trader George Farrugia, was re- sponsible for drawing up and issuing 'illicit' invoices for her husband's secret company Aikon Ltd. The company, managed by fiduciary firm Intershore, served as Farrugia's vehicle to allegedly siphon off €6.8 million in illicit commissions on the sale of fuel oil to Ene- malta, and then deposit the cash in separate local and foreign accounts. While her husband today enjoys a pres- idential pardon issued just days after Mal- taToday broke the story of his role in the Enemalta fuel bribery network back in Janu- ary 2013, Cathy Farrugia has never been in- terrogated or questioned by Michael Cassar, then the chief investigating officer at the time, despite her pivotal role in Aikon Ltd. Cathy Farrugia was then responsible for is- suing bona fide invoices during this peri- od for Power Plan Limited, the family firm owned by the John's Group for the supply of fuel to the oil bunkering industry. But she also played a role in issuing secret invoices for her husband's other company, Aikon Ltd. The bulk of the illicit commissions for the sale of fuel oil to Enemalta were made from 2005 until 2010, when Alex Tranter was re- sponsible at the energy corporation as the politically appointed chairman of the ener- gy corporation. Behind the backs of his brothers John's Group, George Farrugia – using his company Aikon – brokered deals for the supply of oil to Enemalta from oil giant Tra- figura. ...