The fate of the Metal Workers’ Section was closely tied to that of the workers in industry. It grew in parallel with the industrialisation process of the islands, and contributed to its development.

In the immediate years that followed independence some British investment resulted in the setting up of a handful of subsidiaries of world-renowned names. For the metal industry one can single out GKN (Malta) Ltd., and a car assembly line for some British carmakers. The majority of the newly employed workforce were duly enlisted and organised within the Metal Section. The resultant collective agreement with GKN was considered a breakthrough for working conditions in Malta at the time. It was held for many years as a model agreement for all employees in the private sector.

The car assembly people also struck a first but at a much higher price. A painstaking seven-week strike and a subsequent lockout were rewarded with an agreement for a shorter working week. The forty-hour week on five days was thus introduced and later granted to all workers in Malta through legislation.

Along the years the number of members in the section grew to an extent that the GWU’s National Council decided to divide it into two separate section; one to cover the dockyard workers, which became known as the Dry-docks (Metal) section, and another known as the Metal Workers’ Section.

The late seventies were the years marked by a heavy foreign investment mostly coming from multinational companies and West German firms. With them they brought new working methods and the latest technology. The challenge for the workforce was to reach new standards and for the section to adapt new negotiating skills and a cautious approach.

During the eighties the section embraced within its membership most of the workforce at SGS Thompson. The company grew steadily and adopted (in agreement with the workers’ representatives) a new working method and a revolutionary shift system. It is noteworthy to mention the night shift for females in the manufacturing industry. It was the first time in Malta, even before an ILO ruling in that sense.

The Metal Workers Section was at that time going through its busiest period. More dependants of electronics and high tech companies kept pouring in. And so did employees from various manufacturing industries. At one time the section was caring for people working in jobs as different as construction and installation to light and heavy engineering to microelectronics and tool making. And the numbers were growing fast.

In 1999 the section was reorganised and redirected towards its larger part of its membership. It came to be known as the Technology and Electronics Section. While surrendering some of its members to other sections within the union, it could concentrate much more effort on a group of workers that was growing into a sizeable sector within the whole industry.

The new millennium saw yet another change within the new section. Due to a routine reshuffle amongst the sections of the General Workers Union, it was agreed that members from the telephony section were to be brought within the Technology and Electronics Section. Hence the present name of Technology Electronics and Communications Section. An initial task was to safeguard Matacom employees from potential risks emerging from pluralism and privatisation of the former parastatal monopoly.

As for the future, the Technology Electronics and Communications Section of the General Workers Union will continue to mould itself to be in the best position possible to offer a better service to its members as it did during the course of its history.