Kurt Sansone
Unions dilute directive to consumers not to pay electricity bills
The 11 unions which were objecting to the sharp rise in electricity tariffs have directed consumers to pay only those bills which are based on the actual, and not estimated, reading.
They also urged consumers to take the full 45 days permitted by law to pay up.
The move follows the recent downward revision in tariffs which the unions, however, think is still not enough.
The unions have actually retreated from their previous, harsher directive which was not to pay the bills at all.
They yesterday criticised the Malta Resources Authority for accepting the revisions in electricity bills as proposed by Enemalta, saying they expected the tariffs to be set even lower.
The regulator approved the new tariffs last week, more than a month after Enemalta announced price reductions of between 22 and 26 per cent.
The unions insisted that the reductions were still not enough to alleviate the burden imposed on consumers when the tariffs were increased exorbitantly last year.
Still, they claimed credit for the minimal reduction in electricity bills, which they said was the result of the continuous pressure they put on the authorities.
"Had all the unions remained united the burden on consumers would have been alleviated by much more," they said.
The unions also accused the regulator of treating people like "imbeciles" when it agreed to the water tariffs remaining at the same level instead of falling in line with the drop in the price of oil used to generate the electricity consumed by the reverse osmosis plants.
"As expected, the regulator agreed with everything that government said on the water and electricity tariffs. The regulator is not understanding the hardship inflicted on people by the high tariffs," the unions said.
The group of 11 unions, which includes the GWU, the Malta Union for Midwives and Nurses and the Malta Union of Teachers, had continued to oppose the bills, which were substantially higher than what consumers were paying last year with the surcharge at 95 per cent.
The Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin and the CMTU had broken ranks after a meeting all the unions had with the Prime Minister.
Last week the UĦM welcomed the reductions. It said the revision was in line with what was agreed between the Prime Minister and the unions in November.
The UĦM said it expected the reductions to have a positive impact on inflation.
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j micallef
May 14th 2009, 17:43
This is not an issue about politics, either nationally or internationally. It is a question of unjust sky-high utility tariffs which are not justified to be so devastatingly prohibitive ( and this includes the more than doubled meter tariffs and the scandalaous discrimination against summer residence owners who are mostly old-age pensioners). The Unions involved were the people's only hope to fight and perhaps redress this injustice, as the LP seems to have abdicated its duty to champion the citizen's cause as far as this issue is concerned.
Now however, the Unions have evidently cowered under the pressure, and their latest directive shows very unmistakeably that they have nothing else left in their armoury. What's the use of not paying estimated bills, when the actual bills are eventually settled nevertheless? If nothing else, it will make one's bill paymnent even harsher and problematic, unless of course, the psychological effect of paying a much steeper actual bill is what the Unions are after, in order to create greater panic and frustration amongst the paying public.
I appeal to the Government to come to its senses and lower ALL tariffs and to the LP to "oppose" with determination and make reduction promises.
J Martinelli
May 14th 2009, 14:47
A practical 'cure' for the non-paying customers or to those who only pay part of their bill is to tack on the unpaid portion of their bill on to the next one, plus interest. Those who refuse to pay should have their service cut off.
Tariffs are based on the cost of generation and not paying bills gives one the impression that the service is no longer needed.
The unions are ill-advised to continue to take this approach to a problem which is not created in Malta.
H.Calleja
May 14th 2009, 12:04
It seems that the General Workers Union, MUT and MUMN are in competition between them who will moan most and instigate friction against the government. As if they do not follow what is happening in neighbouring countries. Like the PL( and naturally Super One) ,they are thrilled when there is some bad news, try to hide any good ones and forget that in the bad old days of Labour rule, unemployment reached more than 10,000, and many breadwinners had only one choice-join one of the corps invented by Labour where members could not even join a union!!