The development and current situation of trade unions

Abstract

The Maltese system of industrial relations is based on the British model. It has traditionally been supported by British consultants and in the beginning trade unions often took the form of local branches of British unions. The current cultural fabric of industrial relations has also been greatly affected by the rise of two opposing movements in the late 1970s. The first movement was born out of the ideology that the General Workers’ Union (GWU [1]) and the Malta Labour Party (MLP [2]) together formed the 'Malta workers’ movement'. When the MLP has been out of government, this has led to a largely confrontational approach to Nationalist Party governments. On the other hand, a second movement emerged, largely as a reaction to the first one. The Union of United Workers (Union Haddiema Maghqudin, UHM [3]) and other smaller unions under the umbrella of the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions (CMTU) emphasised the importance of being free from political links and tended to be less confrontational in their approach with the state and private employers.

[1] http://www.gwu.org.mt/ [2] http://www.mlp.org.mt/ [3] http://www.uhm.org.mt/