Malta is absolutely dismayed by the sheer arrogance public transport operators have been resorting to since the start of their strike over the government's decision to liberalise the hearse service. The country has experienced cowboy tactics before, sometimes even with the blessing of trade unions, but those involved in the transport strike have gone to extremes , wrongly thinking perhaps that might is right. It is not. The operators have lost the public's sympathy.
They may care very little about this but the people leading them in the federation are carrying great responsibility on their shoulders. They have shown that they are either unable to handle the situation or that they have lost control of their members.
Particularly worrying is that, to all intents and purposes, the transport operators appear to be holding the country to ransom. This is no ordinary industrial dispute. The operators have gone well beyond exercising their right to strike. They are not allowing others in the transport sector to do their business. For a long time over the past three days they paralysed major areas, blocking road networks with their vehicles and causing mayhem and widespread traffic chaos.
Their behaviour at Castille Place, in front of the Prime Minister's office, on Monday was shameful, to say the least. As if this and their sporadic acts of violence were not enough, they have not even allowed the government to run an emergency service. This is crass irresponsibility on their part and the leaders of their federation ought to have immediately stepped in and ensured that the service is run, as has always been the case whenever bus drivers chose to strike in furtherance of their claims. This time, though, they have thrown all reason to the wind, making their stand absolutely unacceptable.
Many felt the police appeared quite unprepared to tackle drivers when these set about creating disorder on the roads. Clearly though, the police were extra careful not to give the drivers cause to escalate their actions. In such explosive circumstances, the police have, therefore, acted wisely so far, though they should not now give the impression that drivers can break the law with impunity. In fact, a number of drivers have already been arrested.
Meanwhile, the drivers are doing incalculable harm to the economy. Tourists caught in the "crossfire" will hardly ever want to come to Malta again, losing the island valuable revenue at a time when it can least afford it. Striking over claims would have been par for the course in a democracy, even though the transport operators have always taken the commuter for a ride in every "reform" undertaken over the years so far. But this time they have gone well beyond what is normally acceptable in an industrial action.
The least the drivers can do until a settlement is reached is for them to behave correctly and allow those who are not involved in their action to go about their business unhindered by bullying tactics.
They may not be interested in winning support for their cause, if they have any (and on the basis of what is known so far, they do not), but they, at least ought to have the decency to let the government run an emergency service.