Warden companies deny existence of tickets quota

The Guard and Warden Service House Ltd and Sterling Security Ltd, the two companies responsible for the warden service, yesterday hotly denied that any quotas for contraventions were being imposed on wardens.

They also said that they had never received any request for such a quota to be introduced, from either the joint committees or the local councils, including those of Fgura, Bugibba, Valletta, Zejtun or Marsaxlokk.

The companies were reacting to a statement by the General Workers' Union on Sunday in which the union claimed that instructions were being given to the wardens on the number of tickets they had to give out per hour.

They said in a joint statement, that if there were any complaints, these should have been directed to the management, before any instructions or directions were issued.

"The managements of the two companies have always maintained that the wardens' work should be consistent, that they should behave professionally and that they should do a decent day's work, in accordance with the directives issued by the local councils' joint committees, as dictated by their authorised officials," it said.

The GWU, in a statement yesterday, said that its dispute was not with either of the two companies but with whoever was imposing the quotas, adding that it was sure that the wardens' employers were not the culprits.

The union said it would be presenting Local Government Minister Austin Gatt during a meeting today with indications of who the culprits were.