GRTU directs members to pay part of utility bills

The Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU yesterday instructed small businesses to pay only part of their electricity bills, a directive likely to hit Enemalta's cash flow.

The GRTU told members to check the number of electricity units they consume and simply multiply the units by €0.13 and pay the equivalent. Anything above that total would be contested in court.

The directive was issued by GRTU president Paul Abela during the association's annual general meeting.

"The issue of utility bills affected many people. The government knows it is wrong and should put this issue aside so that the country can unite and work together to address the real issue: the economy," he said.

Mr Abela called on the government to come up with a strong stimulus package to help the economy counter the impact of international recession, echoing an identical appeal made by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry last week.

The GRTU's move follows the course of action taken by 11 unions, which are still contesting the new bills and which have directed people not to pay their bills before the 45-day time window allowed by the energy provider, Enemalta.

The unions have queries about the workings used to draw up the tariff structure introduced with the new regime and have even suggested that the eco reduction thresholds are inflated.

A report by auditing firm Deloitte for the Malta Resources Authority looked into the workings but did not address the questions raised by the unions.

The report, published last Friday, concludes that the methodologies used when drawing up the new tariffs are correct but the accuracy of the data on which the calculations were based have not been verified.

The government reacted saying the conclusions of the study was welcome but GRTU director general Vince Farrugia yesterday branded the Deloitte report a "rubber-stamping exercise".

He said the document "left a lot to be desired".

The Malta Union of Teachers and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses were of a similar opinion and said that the report reaches no conclusions on any of the bones of contention. The MUT and the MUMN are two of the 11 unions contesting the new tariffs.

MUT president John Bencini said: "This is a farce. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I read that the source data had not been verified. We never questioned the methodology. We expected the MRA to verify the figures. People are now seeing that we were right".

Mr Bencini said the 11 unions wanted a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi because the MRA could not answer their questions related to the social impact the tariffs will have on people.

In the same vein, MUMN president Paul Pace said they had precisely been contesting the source data, which the Deloitte report says had not been verified. He said the unions are convinced that the source data is incorrect.