GWU boss compensated for resigning from Malta Enterprise after Sofia inquiry

Victor Carachi, the 66-year-old president of Malta’s largest trade union, has been compensated for resigning from one of his lucrative government positions last year with a new government appointment.

In February 2024, following a damning inquiry report putting part of the blame for the Jean Paul Sofia tragedy on the board of directors of Malta Enterprise, the GWU boss resigned in a damage control exercise by the government to show some form of responsibility given the inquiry’s conclusions.

A few months later, he was given a new government appointment as a director on the board of the Malta Communications Authority (MCA).

It is unclear how much Carachi is being paid for this new directorship, as the government refused to provide such information in a parliamentary question recently submitted.

Carachi, a pensioner, has served as GWU’s president since 2008. As soon as Labour was elected in 2013, he was awarded a raft of government appointments, creating a conflict between his role as a trade unionist and that of a government official.

Carachi also receives government payments for acting as a director on the boards of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, the Malta Development Bank and Malita Investments.

He also provided paid consultancies to other government agencies, including MIMCOL, Malta Government Investments, and the Malta Freeport Corporation, which regulated the Freeport Terminal. The GWU is supposed to represent hundreds of members in all these government agencies.

The Shift is informed that Carachi’s paid government roles have been discussed within the GWU for years. Still, the president refuses to resign, insisting that he is still helping the union through his public roles.