PN wants court to kick GWU out of Valletta HQ over breach of contract

The Nationalist Party wants the courts to kick the General Workers Union out of its Valletta HQ over an illegal sublet of two parts of the property to third parties – an illegality which was flagged by the National Audit Office in 2015.

The request is one of several being made to the courts in a suit filed yesterday by the PN, which claims it is doing what the government has failed to do over the past year and a half.

The NAO had found that the General Workers Union had breached a 1997 contract when it started subletting part of the property to ARMS Ltd – the state utility company – in 2014. During the course of its investigation the NAO also found that the union was also subletting part of the property to Scaccia Grill, a restaurant that was previously owned by Keith Schembri, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff.

The Workers Memorial Building site was granted to the GWU in 1957. The present building sits on the site of the former Auberge de France, which was levelled during axis air attacks in World War II. In 1997 the lease agreement was changed to allow the union to use some areas for commercial purposes as long as these were used by entities in which the GWU held a majority share.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, PN MPs Jason Azzopardi and Ryan Callus announced that the entire PN parliamentary group had filed a court case against the GWU, the Commissioner for Lands, Arms Ltd and Sciaccia Grill Ltd.

“The government has been dragging its feet and has not lifted a finger against its friend the GWU despite the recommendations of the Auditor General six months ago,” Dr Azzopardi said.

The former lands minister said the government was essentially condoning an illegality through which the GWU was raking in thousands of euros on a monthly basis. Furthermore, the 1997 contract was approved by parliamentary resolution, so the breach was even more serious.

PN spokesman on planning Ryan Callus said the PN was clearly showing that it wanted to do justice to the Maltese people. Mr Callus said the vast majority of people abided by the laws. As such it was very unfair that the situation at the GWU HQ was being condoned by the government, despite the damning NAO report. “It seems there is a law for gods and a law for animals,” Mr Callus said.

The court application, seen by this newspaper, calls on the courts to nullify the 2014 contract between the GWU and ARMS Ltd, the 1997 contract which allowed the union to lease out parts of the building and also the 1957 contract, which saw the transfer of the Valletta site to the GWU.

Dr Azzopardi said yesterday that this specific request was “natural and consequential” in court cases of this nature. Pointing out that a serious illegality was taking place, Dr Azzopardi said the courts could nullify all contracts and evict the GWU from its headquarters.