Updated at 10.30pm - company appeals to union to call off strike

There will be no bus service tomorrow (Friday) as a result of a strike ordered by the General Workers' Union.

The union ordered all Malta Public Transport employees to follow a strike directive from 4am to the end of the day tomorrow.

The service will resume on Saturday even if an agreement is not reached by tomorrow. But the union said it may then order other industrial action.

A Transport Ministry spokeswoman said the company is obliged by law to offer an emergency service which roughly equates to 50 per cent of the normal service.

In a statement tonight, the company said that while employees had the right to follow their union’s directives, it had an obligation towards the public and law, and would ensure that at least 50 per cent of the employees on duty would carry out the service as usual.

“The employees are also specifically bound to follow the instructions of the company in accordance with the law,” it said.

However, the union said this was no true and no service at all would be provided.

It said that a three-hour mediation meeting between the company and the union with Transport Minister Joe Mizzi acting as mediator failed.

GWU general secretary Tony Zarb told a news conference at the bus terminus in Valletta this afternoon had only received an "ambiguous" letter from the buses operator after the union's 48-hour ultimatum, which expires today.

Mr Zarb would not say what the letter said.

The union had demanded a minimum 30-minute break every six hours, an increase in wages, a fixed day off and new shifts. It had also asked for written guarantees.

It said that in spite of the discussions in the past days, the management was continuing to insist on the working hours it had proposed in the past days and was not guaranteeing workers a 30-minute break after six hours of work.

The company said that the new set of duty parameters it proposed had been accepted by the union throughout the negotiations and were in line with all local and European labour laws and regulations.

The union’s fresh proposals, it said, were a radical departure from the main parameters that had already been accepted and 48 hours were not enough for it to review them in detail and understand their implications.

It urged the GWU to call off the strike and return to the negotiation table for the sake of the passengers, the public and employees.

The Union Haddiema Maghqudin, which represents some of the company's workers, said this evening it supported the Malta Public Transport employees in their fight for better conditions and expected results without any further dragging of feet.

It said it had been insisting for months that the MPT workers' duties were unacceptable and noted that the GWU was finally taking action to address the situation.

It appealed to its members to obey the strike action.

The company appealed to the public to plan ahead tomorrow given that the frequency on all services would be reduced.

 

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