Port hauliers do not hold a monopoly - GRTU

The general merchandise hauliers at Grand Harbour do not have a monopoly, the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprise - GRTU said yesterday.

The GRTU was putting its case across after the hauliers held an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to decide whether to halt port operations in protest after the government signalled it would soon open up operator licences bringing to an end their "closed shop".

The hauliers had referred to comments by Marc Bonello, Malta Maritime Authority chairman, who is spearheading port reform.

Dr Bonello had told The Sunday Times that hauliers would soon have to apply for a permit which will be granted according to a candidate's merit.

GRTU director general Vince Farrugia and president Paul Abela, said, however, that the current system was not a closed shop and even less so, a monopoly.

"Though operator licences are limited to 133, this is not a monopoly, because hauliers compete among themselves for business. Besides, every business using the ports can employ its own means to clear documents through Customs and transport merchandise in and out of the port," Mr Farrugia told a press conference.

The law only obliged businesses to commission a licensed operator if it wanted to outsource hauling operations.

But what was irking hauliers most, was the fact that the government was going back on a promise it had made in the run-up to the EU referendum.

According to Mr Farrugia, Malta's chief negotiator during the EU accession talks, Richard Cachia Caruana, had stated clearly that Maltese hauliers did not hold a monopoly and that the system did not constitute a closed shop because the proportion of merchandise carried by licensed operator was relatively small.

The European Commission had accepted this stand, as it had agreed that there would be no restriction on the number of cranes or vehicles a haulier can operate with. In its effort to garner support in favour of EU membership, the government had promised hauliers they would not lose their licences.

"I am confident the government has not changed its stance and, if so, Dr Bonello has no right to say that what was promised and negotiated with the EU does not hold any longer," Mr Farrugia said.

He said he believed that the MMA was using the licences "threat" so that hauliers would give up the unloading of freight from ships which the new operator will take over.

When Valletta Gateway Terminals Ltd takes over from Cargo Handling Company Limited on July 1 at Grand Harbour, hauliers will no longer be responsible for the unloading of freight from ships.

Hauliers Karmenu Zammit and Saviour Vella said this was another big blow for them and for other hauliers who had invested in cranes to unload freight since the new company was to take over this operation.

Strictly speaking, Cargo Handling had been responsible for unloading freight, but the operation was outsourced to hauliers because the company did not have the necessary equipment, they said.