UĦM hits out at dissenting unions

The Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin has accused other trade unions of making up excuses with their protests against the utility bills agreed with the Prime Minister.

The UĦM insisted yesterday that the government's new proposed tariffs, specified by the Prime Minister in a letter sent on November 24, were the same they had agreed to in a marathon meeting with him two days earlier.

This stand by the UĦM is further evidence of the schism that has developed between unions which, only a few weeks ago, united in a historical protest against the new energy bills.

The UĦM and the Confederation of Maltese Trade Unions had then agreed with the proposals that were made public in Lawrence Gonzi's letter last month but a number of other unions, led by the General Workers' Union, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses and the Malta Union of Teachers, have seriously questioned the latest tariffs.

In a letter sent on Wednesday, 11 unions accused Dr Gonzi of twisting figures and blowing out of proportion the number of families who will benefit from the eco reductions on the new water and electricity rates.

The UĦM said that the tariffs made sense because they encouraged people not to waste energy. The 11 unions, it said, were wrong to say that single people will not benefit from an eco reduction as a single person who consumed less than 2,000 units a year would get a 25 per cent reduction.

It accused the other unions of nitpicking to justify their opposition to an agreement they knew existed.