ETUC writes to European Commission over threat to trade union rights in Malta

8 Jul 2026 - Economy | Home | Maritime and Aviation | News | Politics | Sections | The Union | World and Chronicle

The General Workers’ Union today announces that the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has written formally to Roxana Minzatu, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, raising serious concern over the criminal investigation of a GWU official for exercising his legitimate trade union functions.

The ETUC letter, signed by General Secretary Esther Lynch and transmitted to the Commission today, calls on the Commission to raise the matter with the Maltese authorities and to seek assurances that this kind of interference with freedom of association is not repeated in Malta or in any other EU, EEA, or candidate country.

Background:

On 29 May 2026, the electoral day of silence, the GWU’s Section Secretary for Transport, Maritime and Aviation wrote to members employed at Resource Support and Services Ltd. (RSSL) to update them on the status of ongoing collective agreement negotiations. The negotiations had not concluded. The GWU had not agreed to the terms set out in earlier correspondence sent by company management to the workforce. Several members had contacted the GWU directly seeking clarification. The Section Secretary answered them. His communication was confined entirely to employment matters and contained no political content of any kind.

Following a criminal complaint filed by the Maltese Electoral Commission, the Section Secretary was placed under investigation for an alleged breach of the electoral silence day. He was subsequently interrogated under caution by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Malta Police Force.

The GWU immediately issued a public statement defending the Section Secretary’s conduct, notified the ETUC, and wrote to the Employment Relations Board (ERB) requesting urgent discussion.

On 2 July 2026, the Malta Police Force officially closed its investigation and confirmed that there was no case to answer. The Electoral Commission did not withdraw its complaint. The decision not to proceed was taken by the police at the conclusion of a full investigation.

The GWU welcomed the closure of the police file. The outcome confirmed what the union maintained throughout: a trade union secretary who updates members on the state of their collective agreement commits no offence.

The underlying issue of principle, however, remains unresolved. A trade union official was subjected to criminal investigation for carrying out a core representative function. The right to communicate with members about collective bargaining is protected under ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, ILO Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining, and ILO Convention No. 135 on Workers’ Representatives, all ratified by Malta. The supervisory bodies of the ILO have consistently held that trade unions must be free to carry out their legitimate representative functions without interference from public authorities. The European Social Charter, Articles 5 and 6, provides the same protection at Council of Europe level.

The ETUC’s letter to the Commission asks that assurances be obtained from the Maltese authorities that this kind of interference will not recur. The GWU supports that request fully. If similar action is taken against a trade union official in future, the GWU and the ETUC have stated their intention to bring the matter before the relevant international supervisory bodies, including the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association.

Kevin Camilleri, Secretary General of the GWU, said:

“The solidarity shown by the ETUC and by Esther Lynch personally has been outstanding. From the moment we raised this matter, the ETUC stood with us without hesitation. That the ETUC is now writing directly to the European Commission is a measure of how seriously the European trade union movement takes what happened here. Our Section Secretary did his job. He was investigated for it. The police found no case to answer. The ETUC has now ensured that the principle at stake reaches the highest levels of the European institutions. The GWU is grateful, and we will continue to work with the ETUC to ensure that no trade union official in Malta or anywhere in Europe faces this situation again.”