Arriva drivers have complained about a new roster system the transport company wants to introduce on Sunday and which would see some of them working 14-hour shifts.

If drivers are not respected, prospective ones will not bother working for Arriva

The General Workers’ Union, which insists was not consulted about the changes, has given notice of industrial unrest unless the company withdraws the new summer roster pending an agreement.

It asked the director of Employment and Industrial Relations, Noel Vella, to intervene and a meeting has been set for this morning in a bid to solve the issue.

The union is complaining that the new roster system included “inhumane” working hours, with shifts as long as 13 and 14 hours.

Bus drivers who spoke to Times of Malta yesterday said the new roster meant that they could at time work 14-hour-long days with 90-minute breaks, which were too short for them to go home and spend time with their families.

They said the new roster included a shift starting at 8am and finishing at 9pm with a break of one hour some time during the day and another two in between.

Such split shifts, they complained, left them with no option but to remain at work even though they would not actually be working and, so, not getting paid.

They said the proposed roster system was not only unaccept-ble to them but also to Trans-port Malta and the Transport Ministry, which, like them, were not consulted.

The drivers said the underlying problem was a shortage of bus drivers to cover all of Arriva’s routes.

“To attract drivers you have to treat them with respect. If drivers are not respected, prospective ones will not bother working for Arriva,” one irate driver said.

The drivers said they were willing to work on the old roster on Sunday and would not strike unless directives were issued.

Questions sent to Arriva remained unanswered by the time of writing. However, sources said Arriva had not accepted counter-proposals made by the drivers and their representatives, which included a three-week suspension of the new roster or full compensation for all hours worked.