Bus operator Arriva yesterday admitted it was losing a staggering €400,000 a week, confirming reports that it was looking at ending this year with losses in excess of €20 million.
The admission by the company, which is usually very reticent to give out any commercial information, came in a statement in which it complained about possible industrial action by the General Workers’ Union.
It said last night industrial action had been averted following the intervention of Transport Malta. It was also agreed, it added, that the planned switchover to the winter timetables was postponed by two days, coming into force on Tuesday.
“All parties involved have now reached a satisfactory agreement that safeguards the interests of both drivers and the business and ensure that commuters, especially those who depend on buses for their daily travel needs, will not be affected,” Arriva said.
Contacted before last night’s statement by Arriva, the union’s section secretary, Jeremy Camilleri, said the GWU would be meeting the employees on Monday, pointing out that, until then, no industrial action was being planned.
Attempts to speak to him again after Arriva said industrial action had been averted were unsuccessful.
In its statement earlier in the day, Arriva said the union’s demands were “not only unrealistic but indeed harmful to the business and the drivers’ job security”, pointing out that it had been facing sharp losses that were compounded by the Government’s recent decision to withdraw articulated busses – which carry more passengers and make busy routes more lucrative.
“The company made it clear that it is suffering significant losses, which have been compounded by the recent withdrawal of articulated buses at a cost of €400,000 per week,” the statement said.
It has already reportedly gone under by €35 million since it started operating in Malta in 2011 and sources confirmed that, in recent talks, company executives warned they were looking at losing a further €20 million for this financial year, a figure which tallies with Arriva’s claim of weekly losses.
The Sunday Times of Malta has reported that the company’s future in Malta rested on the outcome of deadlocked discussions over new bus routes.
Earlier this week, the GWU said it had registered a dispute with Arriva over its winter schedule that would cause inconvenience to employees.
But Arriva said yesterday it had not received an official notification of a dispute with the union. It said it reached out to the GWU in talks held on Wednesday in the presence of the Director for Employment and Industrial Relations.
“The bus company made a number of payment concessions that go above the current collective agreement but has informed the GWU that it cannot accept other ‘unrealistic’ proposals made by them,” it said.
Arriva said it obtained the approval of the Malta Employers Association for a lock-out to protect its business interests should industrial action be ordered, including suspension of the Unscheduled Bus Service.
“Arriva has taken all reasonable steps to prevent any action and disruption... We remain open to enter negotiations to review the existing collective agreement and are willing to start discussions as soon as the Transport Minister’s new network is agreed to,” it said.
Arriva pointed out that its new rosters for winter were not only in line with the current collective agreement, contractual obligations with Transport Malta and the Working Time Directive ensuring adequate rest but were also an improvement on those in force today and went beyond the guidelines agreed with the GWU driver representatives.
Arriva said it had also offered to pay drivers for any additional rest periods above the legally required meal break and to pay any time above the GWU’s requested maximum break time for normal duties. However, it pointed out it could not accept the union’s request that such payments were made at overtime rates, which was contradictory to the collective agreement signed with the GWU in September 2012.
Arriva said the request was unrealistic and harmful to the business and the drivers’ job security.
It said it was suffering losses at the rate of €400,000 a week and “these unrealistic demands by the GWU may force the company to review the number of employees currently retained by the company while awaiting the return of the articulated buses”.