As the price of crude oil surged to a record high topping $143 per barrel yesterday, the government is today expected to announce a revised fuel surcharge for the coming months.
Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt hinted in Parliament yesterday that the surcharge was expected to hover around the 115 per cent mark, up from the 50 per cent that has been levied during the past six months.
This means, for example, that for a €50 bill, consumers would pay an additional €57.50 in fuel surcharge, having to fork out a total of €107.50.
The new tariff will be in force till the end of September or October when a new system of tariffs would be introduced.
Without hedging, the surcharge would have been 160 per cent. The government is now studying how it could shoulder more of this burden through its subsidy to the corporation.
The General Workers' Union and the Malta Labour Party were quick to react to Dr Gatt's speech.
The Labour Party said the government should not look at the power tariffs and the surcharge as a simple accounting exercise. The movements in the international price of oil did not only affect government finances. Therefore, any measures taken should not be aimed solely at balancing the books but should take into account the needs of Maltese families, especially those with a low income.
Furthermore, the government could not ignore the effect this surcharge would have on small and medium sized businesses and on people's purchasing power.
On its part, the GWU said the government should discuss the surcharge on water and electricity bills with the social partners within the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) before deciding the increase.
The GWU said that, during a recent MCESD meeting, it had asked the government not to announce any increases in the surcharge before discussing the issue with the social partners. On that occasion the government did not seem to be against discussing the matter.
The union remarked that any increase would continue to add to the burden on families when they were already carrying more than they could handle.