About 30 bus drivers did not turn up for work yesterday, the first day of operation of the new public transport service provider, Arriva, causing delays on some routes.

Some of them went near the Arriva office, at the Floriana park-and-ride terminus, at 5 a.m. to protest against the hours they were expected to work. Some carried their uniform in a paper bag and said they were willing to return it and not work for the company if the eight-hour shifts, agreed in their contracts, were not respected.

Almost two hours later, at about 7 a.m., an Arriva official took the protesters’ particulars and noted their complaints saying the company would get back to them.

Arriva director Piers Marlow said it was too early to tell if any action would be taken against the men who did not turn up for work and, if so, what it would consist of.

All energy was yesterday concentrated on getting the buses on the road following delays caused both by the shortage of workers and technical hitches. Arriva personnel even used their cars to pick up people waiting for a bus and driving them to their destination.

“It’s difficult to say (what will happen of the workers who did not turn up). We’ll have a look at the situation when all this has calmed down. It depends on the circumstances. Each one will be treated on his own merits but, of course, we believe that... if they just did not turn up (for no reason) then, as far as we’re concerned, that represents absence from work and we will take a very dim view of that,” he said, adding that not all protesters were on shift yesterday.

When asked what they expected from the protest – since it was unlikely that the company would change the rosters on the first day of operation – one of the drivers said: “They left it to the last minute to give us our roster, so we had to protest in the last minute... We feel betrayed. They are not respecting our contract.”

Drivers last week threatened not to turn up for work complaining that, according to the new rosters, they had to spend the better part of their day at work rather than work for eight hours and then clock out as per their work contract.

The General Workers’ Union, that represents about 480 drivers, on Friday said it had agreed with Arriva that the bus drivers would work a split shift and, in turn, secured a compensation of €35 if this extended beyond 12 hours. This was a temporary solution and the roster would change within two weeks, it said.

But on Saturday afternoon, about 300 drivers protested saying the union had not consulted them before reaching the agreement. Some complained that, according to their roster, their shift was just under 12 hours, which meant they were not eligible for the €35 compensation agreed upon.

They said they wanted to work a straight eight-hour shift that would allow them to better organise their day and did not disrupt their family and social life.

Contacted yesterday, GWU general secretary Tony Zarb insisted that a bus driver representative had been present during talks with Arriva. He pointed out that the agreement reached on Friday was temporary and the union would be involved in drawing up the new rosters that come into effect on July 17. Until then, drivers had to be patient, he said.

He had Arriva’s commitment in writing that the rosters would be changed to better suit the workers’ needs.

Later, in a statement the union said it was satisfied that the “absolute majority” of drivers had taken heed of its appeal and turned up for work. It also praised the employees’ efforts in facing “certain difficulties” that arose during their first day at work.

The union was sure the workers were not to blame in any way for any “failings” on the first day.

One of the drivers who protested yesterday and who did not wish to be named said he had chosen to accept Arriva’s conditions because they were told to “take it or leave it.” He said that, as Transport Minister Austin Gatt had said on the official launch of the service on Saturday night, those who did not comply would be fired.

Dr Gatt referred to the protesters as “bullies” and said that those who did not turn up for work in protest against the conditions should be fired.