Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1542981
THE General Workers' Union's new president warns of consum- erism that is chipping away at sol- idarity among employees in his first interview since being elected to the post. I visit Jason Deguara at his office in Valletta, just one week after his election. Even though he now oc- cupies a new role, Deguara is not a new face at the GWU. "I have been coming here since I was a young boy accompanying my father," he tells me. Prior to his new post, Deguara was the union's international sec- retary and this experience features constantly in his replies; framing domestic issues withing the wider global picture. When I ask him about the main challenges he will face as president, he singles out the new workplace realities brought about by migrant workers. Indeed, the problems faced by this vulnerable communi- ty have influenced the union's work over recent years. Deguara insists the union doesn't distinguish between Maltese, EU, and non-EU workers. They all de- serve protection, he argues. He proudly speaks of the union's work to secure a memorandum of under- standing with agencies covering all of Malta's food couriers, calling it a first for European platform workers. But Deguara also flags the con- stantly shifting international geopo- litical landscape as a major concern. Jason Deguara: 'Chaos and individuality reign when solidarity is absent' The incoming president of the General Workers' Union, Jason Deguara, believes solidarity among workers is weakening. In his first interview since being elected to the post, he tells Matthew Farrugia the biggest challenges the union faces concern employment conditions of migrant workers and the unstable geopolitical situation 4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 FEBRUARY 2026 INTERVIEW