 7 – 13 February 2001 |
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Pro EU delegates scared to express opinion against EU motion By a political correspondent The voting to be held at GWU HQ on Thursday is expected to give the union an overwhelming yes to the motion against EU membership. But very few delegates will dare vote against the motion, The Business Times has been told. "We are in no position to vote in that jungle," one delegate told The Business Times. The rowdy type will shout you down and are very threatening." We were also told that the dockyard folk are the worst. "They are the most vocal and they hold the union leaders to ransom with their taunts and abuse," the delegates said. He also said that the press was to blame with its demonisation of Tony Zarb. "The more you attack him, the more difficult it is for him to come out and take a moderate stand," they said. The delegates told The Business Times that the leadership at the union had locked themselves in a time warp. "They are slaves to extremists," we were told. The union has retaliated harshly at reports by cabinet ministers that the latest report is a façade for a more extensive report commissioned by experts. The report was in fact never published. Mr Zarb has decided to interpret the last report as having found EU membership incompatible with a secure future for the workers. But the union's latest motion and stand was compared to that of the village idiot by Finance minister John Dalli who revealed in a press conference on Monday the names of the experts who had prepared reports. The reports were shelved and kept away from the scrutiny of the delegates and other members |
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