The strike action by the transport federation, which has been going on since Monday, took an unexpected twist last night when the Motor Hearses Association decided to withdraw its membership from the federation and pull out of the strike.

The hearse owners will return to work today.

The hearse owners, who were the first sector of the transport services to be informed of the government's plan to liberalise the market, were the pawn that the Transport Federation was using to challenge the government over its firm decision to open the market and free it of monopolies.

The hearse owners said last night they were never in favour of the use of violence on people or property.

"We never wanted to damage the country, so much so that, for 50 years, we have been rendering a service in the interests of public health at a normal price," the association said.

Welcoming this development, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said he was satisfied that common sense had prevailed.

This is a major step towards a better service to the people, he said, and the government looks forward to discussions that will lead to further developments and improvements in public transport.

"I hope that the other sectors involved in this dispute stop their useless actions. I would like to thank the forces responsible for the maintenance of order for their efforts," Dr Gonzi said.

On his part, Transport Minister Austin Gatt said he was satisfied that the hearse owners have seen sense and accepted the reality of liberalisation.

"The strike action has been out of proportion to the issue at hand but I do believe the matter should now be resolved since all the other transport bodies have ordered this action on the spur of the hearses' issue.

"Hearse owners have buried monopolies in public transport. The future will see a better public transport service which we want to build with private investors both incumbent and new players.

The public rightly expects to be well served. We have today made an important step forward."