Middlemen at the Ta’ Qali vegetable market will be slapped with a fine of €1,200 each following an “uncalled for” strike that saw farmers lose out on tons of produce rotting away in the Pitkalija stores.
We wanted to send a message that this sort of behaviour is unacceptable- George Pullicino
The Rural Affairs Ministry has decided to apply the maximum fine for a first offence under a legal notice that covers the pitkala traders. A second offence could incur a fine of up to €2,500 and eventually even the suspension of their licence.
The police, who are responsible for executing the decision, are now expected to serve the traders.
The move comes after hundreds of farmers scrambled to set up makeshift stalls to sell their own harvest on Thursday morning after they found the Pitkalija at Ta’ Qali deserted, following an unannounced strike.
Many of them managed to sell their stock but only at giveaway prices, meaning more losses.
Angry farmers complained they had substantial stocks of produce locked away in the Pitkalija stores that would go to waste, while others pointed out that the pitkala on Wednesday evening had given them the all-clear because trading would go on regularly.
The dispute is over a raise in commission, which pitkala have been demanding over the past years to pay for rising costs, as well as disagreement over the privatisation of a company that runs the market, with shares going equally to the main stakeholders.
Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino yesterday insisted the sudden strike was “uncalled for” as discussions were ongoing.
The pitkala are legally bound to trade on set dates under their licence agreement. Instead, they made a decision on Wednesday night to strike and sprung the news on farmers the following morning.
“We considered all of these elements before deciding to go for the maximum penalty,” Mr Pullicino pointed out, arguing that the government was also considering using the money to partly compensate farmers.
“Beyond the financial element, however, we wanted to send a message that this sort of behaviour is unacceptable,” he said.
Trader Rafel Xerri said he had been trying to prevent this sort of strike for the past three years but his colleagues had had enough.
Beyond public perception, which seems to be against the middlemen, Mr Xerri argued that the pitkala offer an under-appreciated service both to consumers and farmers.
“Without us, farmers would have been much worse off against the competition of foreign produce after the sector was liberalised following EU membership,” he said.
However, the pitkala have been warning about their vanishing profits for the past three years unsuccessfully, he added.
The situation was simply unsustainable, he argued.
Mr Pullicino said the government was prepared to engage with these issues and insisted the package would have to include improved work practices and a more transparent way of doing things.
Asked to justify why they gave no notice to the government or the farmers, Mr Xerri said: “The reality is that we have had enough, we have been in hundreds of meetings without progress.
“We are with our backs to the wall; some have had to bring in members of their family to work for them without receiving a wage.”
The ministry’s permanent secretary, Chris Ciantar, who has been heading the talks on the government’s side, insisted the pitkala were to blame for the delays, but stressed he was available to resume negotiations if the strike is called off.