PL criticises PM's refusal to meet unions over tariffs

The Labour Party has expressed its disappointment at Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s continuous refusal to meet 11 unions to discuss the new water and electricity tariffs.

Spokesman for social dialogue Gino Cauchi said in a statement that it was not right for Prime Minister to hide behind the Resources Authority to avoid meeting the unions, which had shown maturity and based their arguments on correct figures and studies carried out by serious economists.

The Prime Minister’s refusal to meet unions was a show of arrogance and the wrong international prices of oil the government gave the unions did not justify the its position in the matter.

The opposition was willing to continue dialoguing with unions as it had been doing for the past weeks and would be presenting their position in Parliament, Mr Cauchi said.