The process leading to the privatisation of public lotto has encountered problems with two unions insisting the livelihood of lotto receivers should not be undermined.

The Lotto Receivers' Union and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, which is assisting it in the talks, said they were concerned about two points of principle.

The first issue, they said, was over the failure by Maltco, a subsidiary of the Greek company Intralot, with whom the government is negotiating with a view to becoming the exclusive operator of public lotto in Malta, to recognise the Lotto Receivers' Union as the union representing lotto receivers in Malta and Gozo.

The unions said Maltco had taken this stand despite the knowledge that the Lotto Receivers' Union represents the absolute majority of lotto receivers and has been promoting their interests since 1947.

The second issue is in regard to the lotto booths from where the receivers operate.

The government, they said, had failed to give a guarantee to the receivers that they will be able to continue operating from present booths when the new public lotto operator takes over.

The two unions are insisting that if new exigencies under the new operator would no longer make it possible for the receivers to operate from the present booths, the government should shoulder the responsibility to offer them an alternative.

They said that despite the fact that this issue was raised in talks with the Finance Ministry and with the Privatisation Unit, no guarantee was forthcoming.

They insisted that agreement on the two points was crucial for discussions to continue.

The Privatisation Unit said no final decision has yet been taken on the issues raised by the unions. It added that the Finance Ministry was still being informed about the outcome of the recent discussions held on Wednesday and Thursday.

The unit said it was not appropriate for the unions to make a public statement when the discussion process was still wide open.