Parker is not tied to horse shelter’s spot

A car park attendant who works in Marsamxetto Street, Valletta, has no right to remain stationed in the spot where a horse shelter is planned to be built, according to Transport Malta.

Transport Malta can move car park attendants to any location- lawyer

The authority has the right to transfer him wherever it felt he was most needed for the benefit of the locality, explained Transport Malta’s lawyer Ivan Gatt.

He was making legal submissions in the case filed by car park attendant Paul Grech, 49, who has requested a warrant to stop the authority from building a horse shelter in the car park.

Last week, the court provisionally upheld the request and put off the case until yesterday to hear both parties’ arguments before reaching a final decision.

Mr Grech, a father of three, argued he had been working in Marsamxetto Street, opposite the House of Catalonia, for the past 18 years.

Construction workers turned up one morning to build a shelter for horse-drawn cabs.

Mr Grech claimed he was threatened by Transport Malta staff and told not to put any obstacles in the way.

He said building the shelter would remove a number of parking spaces and severely limit his income.

Although he was managed by Transport Malta, they had no right to take an arbitrary decision overnight when it directly affected his livelihood.

His lawyers, David Camilleri and Sharon Mizzi, said this went against transport regulations that say Mr Grech should have first been given written warning, which he could contest.

The lawyers said their client’s parker’s licence, renewable every October, was linked to the venue and so he shouldbe allowed to stay there at least until October.

But Dr Gatt told the court Transport Malta had the right to move an attendant wherever he was most needed.

A licence granted to a car park attendant was not rigidly linked to a fixed location.

Building the horse shelters formed part of the Valletta rehabilitation programme, he added.

During a meeting between the authority and the Union Ħaddiema Magħudin, representing the attendants, the two sides agreed some attendants would be relocated if necessary under a reform of the system.

Mr Grech was to be moved to an area near the Excelsior Hotel, said Dr Gatt.

Mr Justice Anthony Ellul put off the case for a final decision.