Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/943656
maltatoday SUNDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2018 Interview 15 The General Workers' Union is celebrating its 75th anniversary, against the backdrop of a global economy which has since shifted far to the right. Is the veteran union marching towards inevitable extinction? Secretary-general JOSEF BUGEJA argues that trade-unionism still has a future; but it has to adapt businesses; and that even if the country is booming, any change to the bottom line could still be crippling to a small company. How do you respond to the charge that you're asking too much? When you sign a collective agreement, that is considered a 'success'. And it is a success. It is an agreement between two sides. But when things go wrong, they say it's because the union's de- mands were excessive. OK, but once you've signed the agree- ment... you have a responsibil- ity, as much as I do, to tell me: "Listen, Josef: if you're going to insist on these raises, within six months or a year I will have fi- nancial difficulties and have to lay off employees". Because at the end of the day, I want em- ployment to increase, not de- crease... so that our membership increases. Our aims are the same. He wants to make a profit on his investment; I want him to make a profit, too; so that he shares that wealth with his employees... be- cause the value of their work has to be factored into that profit. This approach may be true for trade unionism today: but GWU has often very militantly defended over lavish over-spending in cash- strapped or financially burdened industries in the past. Obvious examples would include the (pre- privatisation) dockyards: where lay-offs were doggedly resisted even when the yards were running up debts of hundreds of millions. The restructuring at Air Malta, too, involves trimming back luxuries that unions defended in the past... There are four trade unions represented at Air Malta, and I want to make it clear that I'll only comment on the sections repre- sented by the GWU. Basically, all the ground handling: around 700 members. The last collective agreement we signed was in 2004. Over the years since then, the employment model at Air Malta has changed drastically. The con- ditions have remained the same, but the profile of our members has changed: from full-timers to part-timers, for instance. Yet we are still bound by the 2004 col- lective agreement. In fact, we are the only one of the four unions who hasn't had our collective agreement updated. Our mem- bers made sacrifices: we accepted the conditions we were offered. Under both Nationalist and La- bour administrations we worked to safeguard jobs... In fact, the recent industrial unrest at Air Malta involved other unions – mostly ALPA – and not the GWU: even though the GWU had been very critical of the restructuring process under Gonzi. Meanwhile, it is no secret that the GWU is politically very close to Labour. Does this closeness affect the union's approach to negotiations? Is it easier to reach agreements with Labour governments than with Nationalist ones? I understand that people can see it that way. But it's not nec- essarily true. I started out repre- senting workers in the Civil Ser- vice, under the PN. Now: for me to speak to someone, I need that person to listen to me. It doesn't depend only on what I say; the other person has to listen to the proposals. I had occasions, under Nationalist governments, when I presented a particular minister with a proposal, and was totally – but totally – ignored. Nothing. Not even a single point taken in for consideration. Worse than that, the same ideas were passed onto another trade union: which then presented them itself, and they were accepted. On another occasion, I wrote to a permanent secretary within the same minis- try, to ask for confirmation that government was negotiating a particular sectoral agreement. I was told, no, there were no nego- tiations. Next thing I know, I re- ceive a copy of the new sectoral agreement: 'Sign here, please'. I didn't sign. I called the minister and told him that my interest is not in signing pieces of paper, but in negotiating on behalf of our members. But then, there were other Nationalist ministers who were easy to work with: and we signed any number of collec- tive agreements... But it isn't just about collective agreements. The GWU seems to be much more militant under the PN than Labour, too. It's as though the union loses some of its fighting spirit, when dealing with a political ally... Let me put it this way: when I became secretary-general, Jo- seph Muscat was still Opposition leader. The only thing I told him was, "Give us a chance to discuss and make proposals. That's all. I don't want preferential treatment over other unions. I only want the same treatment as all the others." What I don't want is for a propos- al to be shot down, just because it came from the GWU. And if you look at how the GWU has inter- acted with the Government these past few years, you'll find that I only said: 'Thank you for listen- ing'. Does it mean we agreed on everything? No. There are is- sues where we initially disagreed: minimum wage, for instance. It's a shame that, in a country which boasts so much about economic success, the minimum wage had not been increased for 26 years. I can't feel comfortable knowing that I'm doing well, but others are struggling to keep their heads above water... Yet when the minimum wage was raised last April, it was by eight euros a month: which is half of what the Caritas report suggested as a minimum increase. Are you satisfied with that? Yes, and I'll tell you why. First of all, the number of people actually on minimum wage is very low. Around 3,000. But then, there is another band above that, and another above that again: like a concertina. If the bottom level is raised by eight euros, my next ob- jective is to see to it that the tiers above are raised accordingly, in a way that doesn't threaten jobs. There has to be a relativity be- tween the different salary levels. The ones at the bottom got an increase of eight euros, and that's good. Is it enough? As a union- ist, I'll always try to get the best conditions possible; but you have to be realistic. As a result of that eight-euro increase, the next lev- el up will see their salary increase by three euros (in three years), the next by two, etc. Irrespective of COLA and any other collective agreement increase. But we also agreed on a Commission for Low Wage: so that we won't have to wait another 26 years to raise the minimum age again. We created a mechanism, between govern- ment, employers and trade un- ions, to discuss how and when the minimum wage will increase next. We've already agreed that, by 2023, there will be another revision. The way I see it, that is our role as a union: to raise the level of our members; to raise the standards of working conditions across the board... but also, I feel the GWU has a social responsi- bility to work towards solutions to national problems. In its 75 years the GWU has always been at the forefront in this sense. This is why we were the very first pro- tagonists, along with the MEA, to start discussions about the mini- mum wage in Malta. militancy over? PHOTO JAMES BIANCHI