Updated 4.30pm with TM's statement

The Planning Authority has issued an enforcement notice against Transport Malta over various shortcomings at a leased building in Marsa.

A number of employees had complained about “unbearable working conditions” at the building, which is owned ­by the General Workers’ Union, and have filed reports asking the Occupational Health and Safety Authority to investigate. Transport Malta refutes the claims.

“We moved here just a few months ago, and the place is not fit for purpose. There is no ventilation, and we are literally working in a basement without any windows. We really cannot understand how the Planning Authority accepted that Transport Malta turns this building into offices. It is barely good to be used as a garage,” one employee said.

“A few weeks ago, some desks were covered in drainage. We then discovered that drainage pipes were above through the false ceiling,” another employee said.

The place is not fit for purpose

A spokeswoman for the OHSA would not comment, not even on whether the safety watchdog had received any reports and whether it was acting on them.

“You may wish to note that the OHSA is precluded by law from divulging any information regarding the receipt or otherwise of complaints or the outcome of any investigation which it carries out,” she said.

Transport Malta refuted claims of a bad working environment, insisting that the situation now was much better than before. “The conditions of these workers have greatly improved over the conditions they endured in Floriana for years," a spokesman said.

“Transport Malta’s offices in A3 Towers are lit, ventilated and certified according to law,” he insisted.

The Times of Malta has confirmed that the Planning Authority issued an enforcement order over a number of shortcomings.

The transport watchdog was ordered to remove large external air-conditioning units, ducts and canopies that were installed without the necessary authorisation, this newspaper was told.

Residents living close to the building said the air-conditioning units were very noisy and were causing a lot of inconvenience.

“This place was never planned to have large-scale offices and was always meant to be residential. It is not fair that we have ended up in this situation thanks to the authorities,” one resident complained.

The lease of part of the A3 Towers by Transport Malta has been in the news amid reports that it is paying €500,000 a year for the lease. The building was chosen following a request for proposals, though it resulted that the GWU’s was not the cheapest offer.

Transport Malta had to postpone relocation to the Marsa building a number of times due to completion delays.

The Times of Malta reported that the building was chosen when Robert Borg, the GWU’s financial controller, was also acting as Transport Malta’s board secretary.

Mr Borg denies that there was any conflict of interest.

The building currently also houses the offices of Mr Borg’s accounting firm and the offices of Undecim Five Investments Ltd, a private consultancy firm owned by James Piscopo, Transport Malta’s chairman and CEO.

No wrongdoing from our part - TM

In a right of reply, Transport Malta said it chose A3 Towers following a request for proposals that followed the established rules of procurement.

"The reporter merely states that the A3 tower offer was not the cheapest offer. It was the cheapest compliant offer. The paper seems to be implying some wrongdoing on Transport Malta's part. That is deceitful. It tries to implicate Mr Robert Borg in its fictional wrongdoing, when the latter was in no way involved in the adjudication process that was guided throughout by the Department of Contracts."

TM said Times of Malta was right in stating that the Planning Authority issued an enforcement notice about eternal airconditioning units.

"The notice has nothing whatsoever to do with the working conditions or with the inappropriateness of the building, as the paper tries to imply. Moreover, if the journalist asked about the enforcement notice, we would have let them know that all issues pointed out by the PA have been rectified or will be in the coming days."

TM quotes residents saying that the place was meant to be residential and in fact the offices had and still have a commercial permit.

Transport Malta moved to the A3 towers to provide a better customer experience for clients and better working conditions for employees. Persons who have been to the buildings in Floriana and then to the A3 towers will testify to the marked improvement, it said.