PM to meet unions this afternoon

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will be meeting trade unions this afternoon to discuss the new water and electricity tariffs.

He will also hold a separate meeting on the same subject with the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises.

The unions called for a meeting with Dr Gonzi on Friday at the end of a demonstration which saw 20 unions come together for a historic protest against the financial burdens imposed by the new utility bills.

They called on the government to get back around the negotiation table and revise the tariffs.

Despite coming under intense pressure from both unions and employers, Dr Gonzi said he was willing to do so only so long as talks revolved around giving incentives to energy savers.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech has made it clear that there is to be no overhaul of the tariffs but the government is open to the possibility of tweaking them in order give further help to certain categories of consumer.