A two-hour long discussion among social partners yesterday did not yield any positive results as the government did not present its fresh proposals on the utility tariffs.
Representatives of the social partners sitting on Malta Council for Economic and Social Development said the talks could have never led to anything conclusive without the proposals, which are expected to be presented by the government during another meeting today. It could not be ascertained why these were not tabled yesterday.
The original proposals, announced on October 1, were slammed by all social partners who argued they would have drastic repercussions on families and industry and lead to unemployment.
Sources said that during yesterday's meeting the government suggested changing the present system of subsidies to a payment system. This was accepted by the social partners.
The sources said the government also confirmed a three-year transition period for the new water and electricity tariffs but maintained that these will amount to more than the present tariffs plus the 95 per cent surcharge.
As they were leaving Phoenicia Hotel, in Floriana, where the meeting was held, the social partners remained tight-lipped about the meeting's outcome.
The representatives of the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin, the General Workers' Union and the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU said they would not comment before today's meeting.
Stefano Mallia, from the Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, said there was "lots of will for consensus" to which the president of the Malta Hotel and Restaurants Association, Kevin De Cesare, added: "But we still have to find a solution".
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech, Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt and the Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue Chris Said were present for the meeting but did not comment either.
MCESD chairman Sonny Portelli described the meeting as "good" but reiterated there were no conclusions.
"We are waiting for the (revised) figures. These are works in progress and we need to give everyone the chance to continue with their work and develop ideas," he said.
Asked if an agreement would be reached today, Mr Portelli was non-committal: "We hope so..."
Sources said that during the meeting employers asked for the tariffs to remain unchanged in the first year, with the transition taking place over the following two years.
They argued that they were having a bad year because of the international recession.
The unions also asked whether the consumer would be paying for this one-year capping and requested the average consumption of about 1,500 units per person to be reasonably priced.
The social partners and the government agreed to meet again today to continue discussing the utility bills.
Another MCESD meeting is scheduled for Saturday to discuss the budget.