Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/591015
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2015 8 News JURGEN BALZAN THE Registrar of Trade Unions has never carried out a proper audit on union membership and is currently in the process of re- cruiting inspectors which would allow it to scrutinise the informa- tion provided by unions. Last week, MaltaToday pub- lished figures from an internal document showing that the Gen- eral Workers' Union's member- ship stood at just over 18,000 in 2014, a staggering 29,000 less than the figures it submitted in the lat- est Registrar of Trade Unions re- port. Asked for a reaction, the GWU told MaltaToday that it had noth- ing to add to what union boss Josef Bugeja told MaltaToday last week, when the freshly elected secretary-general said the figures provided to the registrar were "real." "The numbers cannot be inflat- ed because they are audited and checked against the records pro- vided by employers," Bugeja said. But in comments to MaltaTo- day, the registrar said "to date no general inspections on union membership have been carried out, however one has to keep in mind that at present the Depart- ment is in the process of recruit- ing additional inspectors." The registrar's office, which falls under the Department of Indus- trial and Employment Relations, added that discussions are under- way to improve the process of un- ion membership verification. The law grants the registrar the power to inspect the records of membership of unions at any time and trade unions are obliged to give the registrar "all reasonable facilities to do so." But such inspections are carried out at the request of employers at particular work places. Membership figures seen by MaltaToday show that the GWU has lost some 6,000 members in just over eight years. The figures seen by MaltaTo- day belie statistics provided by the union to the registrar, which in the 2012/3 annual report put the number of GWU members at 46,831. Asked whether the figures pro- vided by the GWU were trust- worthy, the office of the registrar said "each year, all registered unions are obliged to submit a declaration confirming that their membership records have been brought up to date." However, it also noted that the definition of what constitutes a member of a union is established by the statute of the respective unions, which may differ from one union to another. According to the figures provid- ed in the latest registrar's report, the GWU's rival union Union Haddiema Maghqudin had 26,103 members in 2012/3. The third largest union is the Malta Union of Teachers, which according to the report has almost 8,000 mem- bers. The GWU, which perennially claims to be the largest in Malta, first provided figures to the reg- istrar in 2001/2, with the report putting the union's membership at 47,653. ŵ JODSFBTFEBMMPXBODF GPSHP[JUBOTUVEFOUT #Budget2016 This is a paid advert Trade Union Members General Workers' Union 46,831 Union Haddiema Maghqudin 26,103 Malta Union of Teachers 7,905 Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses 3,181 Malta Union of Bank Employees 2,907 The Medical Association of Malta 811 Malta Dockers Union 609 Professionals and Services Employees Union 416 Care Workers Union 416 Employers' Association Members GRTU 7,764 Malta Employers' Association 465 Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association 386 Source: Report by the Registrar of Trade Unions 2012-13 The top 10 unions and top three employers associations according to membership statistics provided to the Registrar of Trade Unions Footballers' group calls for free transfers, TIM DIACONO A group representing Maltese foot- ballers has insisted that the Malta Football Association fall in line with the Bosman transfer ruling, which allows the free movement of EU footballers at the end of their con- tracts. The landmark Bosman ruling by the European Court of Justice in 1995 stipulates that EU football clubs can no longer demand com- pensation from other clubs for out- of-contract players, effectively free- ing footballers from their former clubs as soon as their contract is up. However, the Malta FA has re- mained behind the times, and Mal- tese clubs can still demand transfer fees at the end of a player's con- tract. "Why not abolish the transfer sys- tem and come in line with the rest of Europe?" the Malta Football Players Association questioned in a state- ment. "No player is encouraged to shift to football full-time if he does not have the basic right to work for an employer of his choosing." Another significant obstacle faced by Maltese footballers wishing to turn professional is the "training compensation fee". This means that once a footballer signs his first professional contract, his new club would have to pay a fee to all the clubs that the player had played with between the ages of 12 and 21. "What this translates to in real terms is a further disincentive for clubs to sign their players as profes- sionals, since doing so would incur costs that can reach amounts of up to €18,000," the MFPA said. "We have unfortunately continued to face situations whereby clubs gave no other option to players but to sign as amateurs – therefore not signing a written agreement with the player detailing each party's ob- ligations but paying them neverthe- less. Moreover, children aged 13-15 years are sometimes asked to pay as much as €1,200 to join a club of their choice – over and above kit charges and annual membership fees. "Young players are being treated like assets with no rights at all, and such situations are pushing young players away from the Maltese foot- ball scene from a every early age," the MFPA warned. Former international treated as a 'persona non grata' The Footballers' Association also warned that several footballers – including some playing in the Pre- mier Division – are owed over six months' worth of salary. "Players loyal to their club do not wish to file procedures and risk the relationship they have built over the years with their club. We ask every- one asking players to make sacrific- es to ask themselves how part-time players can even consider leaving their jobs to play full-time football is they are not even paid?" It said that a former international player is currently suspended indef- initely from all football activity – as per MFA associations – for open- ing a court case against his former club who owes him over a year's salaries. GWU boss Josef Bugeja Unions watchdog carries no audit on membership numbers Figures seen by MaltaToday belie statistics provided by the GWU, whose membership would be down to 18,000