Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1537913
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 JULY 2025 INTERVIEW Josef Vella: 'The government is hearing us but not listening' TO say that Josef Vella is frustrated with the lack of social dialogue that underpinned government's decision to abandon plans for mandatory un- ion membership is an understate- ment. The boss of one of Malta's largest unions is disappointed that govern- ment announced such a decision through a newspaper interview without even discussing a concrete proposal with unions. Vella, CEO of UĦM-Voice of the Workers, does not mince his words: "Government succumbed to the pressure of employers to kill the idea." The government had been toy- ing with the proposal to introduce mandatory union membership for years and in the 2022 general elec- tion it was etched in the Labour Party's manifesto. But Parliamen- tary Secretary Andy Ellul has now killed the idea, insisting the gov- ernment had received legal advice against pursuing mandatory union membership. The declaration, 10 months after Ellul had said the proposal would be implemented "well before" the end of the legislature, caught un- ions by surprise. "This is not social dialogue," Vel- la tells me as we sit in his office at the UĦM headquarters in Floriana. And he fears the government will adopt the same methods when it comes to reforming the Industrial Tribunal. The UĦM has long called for a more professional tribunal that is elevated to the level of a magistrate to ensure independence and securi- ty of tenure. Vella welcomes the government's recent announcement that it wants to reform the tribunal but he is also wary. "We agree with reform but from our experience of social dialogue with this government, I fear it will lead to another disappointment," he says. Disappointed by the government's unilateral decision to abandon plans to introduce mandatory union membership, UĦM CEO Josef Vella tells Kurt Sansone the notion of social dialogue is being undermined by the government.