Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/571192
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 SEptEmbEr 2015 News GWU ordered to pay former section secretary €22,000 Karmenu Vella had resigned his union post in September 2006 following a disagreement with the union's administration Mat theW aGiUs The General Workers' Union has been ordered to pay over €22,000 in unpaid wages and vacation leave to a former sec- tion secretary. Karmenu Vella, a former sec- retary of its services and media section, had resigned in Sep- tember 2006 following a disa- greement with the union's ad- ministration. In his resignation letter, Vella had gone on record accusing the GWU of not practising what it preached, but had in fact com- mitted the very breaches it was meant to protect workers from, against its own employees. According to a memorandum of understanding, entered into in September 1999 and regu- lating conditions of work for GWU officials such as Vella, secretaries who resigned from employment with the GWU were entitled to €5,104.14 or the equivalent of their final three months' wages. Vella had also claimed €16,598, in unused vacation leave. The union had insisted that the amount due for unused va- cation leave should be deduct- ed from the notice money and that the complaint fell within the jurisdiction of the Indus- trial Tribunal and should be heard by it. however, the Court of Appeal had declared that the tribunal 's exclusive jurisdiction was just in certain cases of alleged un- fair dismissal and ordered the case to continue. On the question of payment for vacation leave not taken, the court held that "the de- fendant [the employer] cannot deduct notice money from this amount as notice money is re- lated to pay, not leave". It also noted the rejection of Vella's offer to give a proper handover to his successor, as outlined in his letter of resig- nation, by the union's leader- ship on the grounds of his "dis- loyalty". Mr Justice Joseph Zammit Mckeon ordered the union to pay Vella €21,702.14 plus in- terest payable from December 12, 2008 until the date of pay- ment. 17-year-old punter 'threatened prostitutes with a knife after being refused sex' the boy, who at the time of the assault was already on bail for trying to snatch a bus driver's bag, was presented under arrest MattheW aGiUs A 17-year-old egyptian has been remanded in custody after he was charged yesterday with threaten- ing two Marsa prostitutes with a knife. The youth, who at the time of the assault was already on bail for trying to grab a bus driver's bag, was presented under arrest before Magistrate Ian Farrugia. Police Inspector edel Mary Camilleri explained that the ac- cused had allegedly approached one prostitute in Triq Belt il-haz- na, Marsa, on Monday evening, asking for sex, but then became aggressive when she turned him down, and he threatened her with a f lick knife. he had tried to make a run for it when the police were called, but was apprehended some time later. The knife was not found. It is understood that another prostitute, who was working the same Marsa street at the time, made a similar claim about the egyptian, but had run away af- ter she lied to him about having called the police. Lawyer Abigail Bugeja, legal aid, entered a plea of not guilty but bail was not requested at this stage. The court ordered a ban on the publication of the name of the ac- cused on account of his age. 61-year-old electrician critical after fall inside ship's hold A 61-year-old man is in critical condition after falling while work- ing in the hold of a ship docked at the Freeport in Birzebbuga. The accident took place at 11am yesterday, when the man, a Bul- garian electrician working in the ship, fell the height of about two storeys. The man was assisted from the vessel by members of the Civil Protection Department and taken to Mater Dei, where he was found to be in critical condition. Police investigations are under- way. This month, MaltaToday re- ported how the Malta Freeport has been ordered to pay €780,000 in just over eight years in cas- es in which the company was found guilty of negligence by the courts. The most serious accident in re- cent years saw Alfred Zerafa die on 2 October, 1998 after falling the height of two containers while he was working in the hold of the vessel "Marchallenge" which was berthed in the Freeport Termi- nal. Malta Freeport CeO Aaron Far- rugia said the freeport strictly follows the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code and gave an assurance that the company employs health and safety managers who implement and ensure that all regulations are adhered to. Former GWU official Karmenu Vella