The Spanish operator that took over the public transport system at the beginning of the year had been planning a “soft entry” but so far it has turned out to be quite a bumpy ride.

The strike ordered by the General Workers’ Union yesterday was not the first industrial action against Autobuses de Leon, which operates locally by the name of Malta Public Transport. In May, the same union had called a six-hour stoppage over payroll reductions. This time around, the dispute is over work rosters.

A fortnight ago both sides were very close to an agreement but the deal collapsed over the interpretation of the terms of a 30-minute break for workers on eight-hour shifts or longer. Bus drivers have rejected the company’s proposal of five-minute breaks and asked for a minimum 15-minute continuous period of rest.

Somehow, as Malta Public Transport continues to struggle to find its feet and provide a service deserving of the €30 million annual subsidy it receives, it is always its drivers who seem to be getting the short end of the stick.

The abysmal launch of the Tallinja card in summer, the long queues and flaring tempers it created, and the chaos caused by faulty cards saw bus drivers getting much of the flak from dis-gruntled commuters.

True, there are some bad apples among the company’s 900-odd drivers but most of them are dedicated and doing their best in the situation.

The drivers are the face of the company and the point of interface with its clients. They deserve better than quick five-minute breaks in between trips. There is also the safety of passengers involved as they depend on the astuteness of drivers who must navigate Malta’s imperfect roads and equally imperfect driving standards.

If the company will be taxing its employees in this manner, with the result that commuters have to bear the full brunt of the industrial disputes such a policy provokes, then taxpayers who fund its subsidy should be equally taxing by demanding Malta Public Transport delivers what is signed up to do last December.

The problem is that Transport Minister Joe Mizzi, who attempted a last-ditch mediation on Thursday night but failed, is refusing to publish the contract the government signed with Autobuses de Leon. It is about time he does.

Mr Mizzi initially promised to table the contract in Parliament but later changed his mind and said it would not be published before an “information campaign” to explain it. Pressed by the Opposition in Parliament, Mr Mizzi then said he was reluctant to release it because the PN was only intent on “speculating and fuelling negative perceptions”.

The almost empty bus terminus in Valletta yesterday, like our congested streets, was no “negative perception”created by the Nationalist Opposition but the work of the GWU, a close ally of the Labour Party, which reached the point no trade union likes, that of outright industrial action.

Nine months into the ‘soft launch’, there is no visible improvement in the public transport service. This was very evident during the summer months. Whichever way you look at it, public transport has simply become more expensive for commuters, who have seen the €1.50 day ticket replaced by a €2 two-hour ticket.

Mr Mizzi has repeatedly said he would publish the contract at an opportune moment. That moment is now because the public deserves to know what the Spanish bus operator has actually committed itself to deliver, and when.

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