The Transport Federation yesterday gave the government until Monday morning to withdraw permits for the operation of new hearses or else face a strike it says will paralyse the transport system in Malta and Gozo.
Reacting to the threat, the Transport Ministry said its decision to issue new permits for hearses as a result of the recently-announced liberalisation of the sector was final.
Federation chairman Victor Spiteri also asked the government to start talks on reforms in the transport sector. The federation said the Blue Grotto Boats, the Gozo Bus Owners Association, the MiniBuses Co-Operative, the Motor Hearse Association (Malta and Gozo), the Public Transport Association and the White Taxis Licensed Amalgamated will be taking part in the industrial action it is threatening to call.
On hearing about the strike threat, the ministry called off a planned meeting with the federation adding it would not accept to meet until the threat was lifted.
The ministry deemed the action an attempt to protect a monopoly and demonstrating indifference to passengers' needs.
The ministry said last Monday that, following the Cabinet's approval, the government decided to liberalise the hearse sector in the consumer's interest.
The announcement came barely a week after the Transport Federation called on Transport Minister Austin Gatt to withdraw his proposal to the Cabinet to liberalise the sectors of coaches, taxis, hearses and other means of transport.
Mr Spiteri told The Times the government was mistaken to think that funeral prices would go down due to liberalisation. Statistically, seven people a day die in Malta. Through liberalisation, the number of hearses would increase from 12 to about 30, the supply thus being far bigger than the small demand, he said.
Prices might go down for the first year or two but things would change as hearse owners realised they were working for a pittance, Mr Spiteri said.
"Liberalisation in a limited market will lead to disaster," he cautioned. He added that hearse owners felt deceived by the government's decision to liberalise the sector after they entered into hefty financial commitments to buy new hearses following negotiations with the government in the previous legislature.
Asked about this, Motor Hearse Association (MHA) president John Bray explained that the association and the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) had drafted an agreement - that remained unsigned - whereby the government pledged not to issue new hearse permits (so long as the existing ones coped with the market demand) on condition that the association members abided by a code of conduct and changed their hearses and got new ones by the end of last year.
Mr Bray confirmed that the hearse owners complied and 10 new hearses had been bought by the end of last year, that is, before the agreement was supposed to be signed.
Delays in finalising the document - a copy of which was seen by The Times - were caused by the amendment of certain clauses. When the time came to sign the agreement, Mr Bray said, the association was told that the ADT board had been dissolved due to the general election.
"It is deceitful that, today, after forcing them (hearse owners) into this investment, it (the government) suddenly liberalised the sector. If it (the government) planned to liberalise the market, why wasn't it done two years ago," Mr Spiteri said.
Asked about this, the Transport Ministry said: "There was no agreement with the association of hearse owners and there would, therefore, have been no deception".