Bus drivers could strike on Saturday unless the transport operator refunds money it withheld from employees by Friday, the General Workers’ Union has warned.

The GWU said yesterday it had registered an industrial dispute over the decision taken by Malta Public Transport, the Spanish-run bus operator, to cut employees’ wages when the contractual number of working hours was not reached.

The union said at law there could be no reduction in pay without the consent of the employees involved. No consent had been given in this case so it was constrained to issue an ultimatum.

“If our request for the docked pay to be refunded is not honoured by Friday, we will have no choice but to order a strike on Saturday across all sections of Malta Public Transport, including a suspension in bus services,” the union said.

Meanwhile, Malta Public Transport yesterday said it had received 15,000 registrations for the Tallinja card in just three days since the launch. The electronic card will be used to pay the bus fare.

If our request for the docked pay to be refunded is not honoured by Friday, we will have no choice but to order a strike

More 5,000 registrations were received from Kartanzjan holders. The company said a considerable number of registrations were also received from foreigners residing in Malta.

The electronic bus card will start to be used in July and commuters using it will benefit from reduced prices.

The card, which is similar to London’s Oyster card, will quicken the turnover time at bus stops, since drivers will not have to waste time giving change.

Commuters who decide to buy tickets from the driver will pay a higher fare. Registration for the bus card can be done online, and holders of a new identity card or of a driving licence are not required to submit a photo.

The company said customers only had to give their consent to Malta Public Transport to access their personal information from the National Identity Card or the driving licence databases. Over 85 per cent of all registrations do not require the submission of a photo.

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