Watch: We’re not going to force anyone to join a union - Fearne

Updated 5.10pm

The Labour party has no plans to force employees to join a union, deputy leader Chris Fearne has said, in a departure from what the party manifesto has described as a push for “mandatory” trade union membership. 

A proposal in the Labour manifesto states that the party is "in favour of introducing mandatory trade union membership, as previously proposed by the main unions in the country."

It goes on to note that, if elected into government, it will "start discussions with social partners on the implementation of the measure." 

The proposal has sparked alarm among employers.

But when asked by Times of Malta on Wednesday to clarify the proposal, Fearne said that the party wasn’t looking to force people to join unions but to safeguard their rights should they wish to do so. 

“Unfortunately it is a fact that there are whole sectors of employees who are afraid of joining unions, we want to put a stop to this and make sure that anyone who wants to join a union will have access to that right,” Fearne said. 

“The manifesto also says that this is a proposal to be carried out in discussion with our social partners. We are not looking to do this through imposition but...