A group of trade unions within the Għaqda Unions Maltin yesterday called on the government to suspend the new utility rates pending talks with the social partners.
In a meeting with a Nationalist Party delegation led by general secretary Paul Borg Olivier, GħUM president John Bencini presented a report on the impact the new rates would have on domestic users.
Although he said the report was penned by "experts in the field", General Workers' Union general secretary Tony Zarb refused to name them, saying they had drawn up the report on condition of anonymity.
Mr Bencini said some of the authors were former Enemalta employees who did not want to be named because of "possible repercussions".
He formally invited the PN to Sunday's protest on the new tariffs, an invitation Dr Borg Olivier immediately refused, saying the party was focusing more on generating and safeguarding jobs than on attending street protests.
He urged the unions to take a wider view of the situation, adding that funds the government used to give as subsidies to Enemalta, which increased by €270 million since 2004, were now being invested in education, health and the social sector.
Mr Bencini, who is also president of the teachers' union, noted that the protest was being backed by 63 per cent of unionised workers. "This is not a protest meant to topple the government or to damage the country but a protest to drive a message home, as is done regularly in many other European countries. Protesting is not a crime," he said.
He said the government should suspend the tariffs pending talks with the social partners, including trade unions that were not represented on the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development.
Dr Borg Olivier said the world was going through an economic storm but the government had still managed to spare the country the worst of the fallout.
He pointed out that the GWU was acting differently now than it had when the Labour government led by former Prime Minister Alfred Sant had, in 1996, raised utility tariffs steeply when the oil price was just $12 a barrel.
Mr Zarb replied that the situation was different at the time and that the Labour government never actually issued the bills based on the new tariffs.
Earlier, the GħUM wrote to all members of Parliament inviting them to take part in the protest.
The organisation pointed out in the letter that a vote on the tariffs would be taken in Parliament on Monday so the MPs' presence at the manifestation was of national importance and would be appreciated by constituents.
Meanwhile, the GWU told shop stewards at a rally that the 11 unions organising the protest had already agreed on the next step, which would be announced during the protest.