The police have not yet issued the permit for next Sunday's protest against the water and electricity tariffs, The Sunday Times has learnt.

The protest is being organised by the Għaqda Unions Maltin along with the General Workers' Union and will be held in Valletta.

A police spokesman said although they had been notified, no permit had been issued. He did not specify whether an application for the permit had been submitted.

Sources close to the GWU said its officials were not unduly concerned since permits were usually issued close to the date of an event.

The Labour Party and Alternattiva Demokratika declared they would join the Għaqda Unions Maltin in the protest in Valletta on February 28.

The Confederation of Malta Trade Unions, which includes the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin and the Medical Association of Malta, has already declared it will not be attending because it feels street protests cause more harm than good.

The Malta Union of Professional Psychologists, an affiliate of the CMTU, said while it would not participate as an organisation, since it shared the views of the CMTU, it was not stopping its members from attending. Meanwhile, the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise said it would not attend, while the Malta Employers Association said there were other options to taking to the streets in protest.

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, which was the most vociferous of the social partners, is still undecided over whether to attend. This is possibly due to the fact that the association and the government are close to reaching agreement on measures to assist hotels and restaurants invest in alternative technologies to keep their water and electricity bills down.

Hotels and restaurants could benefit from schemes to finance investment in alternative energy as a means to cushion the hike in utility rates.

Rather than subsidise the impact directly, the government is working on special schemes to help hotels and restaurants invest in reducing their water and electricity consumption.